


The Protectors

by Bluephantom



Series: Demons and Half-Bloods [1]
Category: Death Note & Related Fandoms, Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler, Le Fantôme de l'Opéra | Phantom of the Opera & Related Fandoms, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Crossover Pairings, Implied Relationships, Multi, Original Character(s), crossovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-19
Updated: 2013-11-19
Packaged: 2017-12-24 01:23:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 80,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/933474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bluephantom/pseuds/Bluephantom
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Tartarus closing and Nico's life constantly seeming to be threatened, Hades decides he needs Guardians. He chooses none other than Earl of the Underworld Ciel Phantomhive and his butler Sebastian Michaelis.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Wolf Amongst Sheep

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this idea ever sense I was going to start posting stuff and just now decided to finally write it. Usually I tend to go character crazy, but I promise in this one I'm not going too.

    “ What do you mean, Dad?”

“ It’s not safe for you anymore.”

“ Who are these people?”

“ They’re not people.” My Dad looked to the people standing near him. One was as old as me, but he had red eyes, and one had a weird mark on them. “ This is Earl Ciel Phantomhive, and this is his butler, Sebastian Michaelis.” The tall demon beside the demon boy nodded, and bowed.

“ A pleasure to meet you, Master Nico.” Sebastian said, then looked back at the Earl. He sounded British, so I guessed he and the Earl were from Britain because the Underworld is a vast place, and not much of it is charted. The Underworld expands worldwide, but as Olympus moves, the heart of the Underworld, which is the charted part, moves also.

“ I have assigned them to protect you.” He looked at the two of them. “ Raven-Crow Demons the both of them, but their breed is very clever and sneaky. They’ll sneak right past Chiron’s eyes, and that fool Dionysus.”

“ But Dad!” I said, “ you can’t send monsters into a camp with people who fight monsters!”

“ Demons, Nico.” He corrected angrily, “ there is a large difference between the monsters you fight and these underworld demons. It is done, Nico, and there is nothing more to it!” He leaned back, slightly aggravated. “ Sometimes you are such a difficult boy! Especially after that incident. You need protection, and that incident made that very apparent to me. I may be the best God parent for doing this! I’m actually sending people to protect my son instead of leaving him alone in the world to die.”

“ Lord Hades if I may intrude, this is madness by all means! The boy is right, you cannot send demons into a hoard of people whom FIGHT demons and monsters,“ said Earl Ciel. Finally, some sense in this crazy conversation. And, as I had suspected, he was British too.

“ You will protect him!” My Father sneered. “ You are an Earl of this Underworld! I expect an earl to do a king’s bidding! You will be exalted, hell you already are, for doing this! I’m trusting you two with my son!”

“ What about the girl?” Sebastian mused, “ you leave one of your children behind in the dust?”

“ Hazel is well protected by her friends. They have gone after Nico more than her, and Nico is more isolated.” Hades said to Earl Ciel, “ you and your butler are crafty, clever, you’ve done well with your jobs.”

“ Wait!” I said, “ Earl of the Underworld, what?”

“ A part of the Underworld belongs to demons, reserved for them. It is not like Tartarus, and many souls from the Field of Punishment are put there when it gets too crowded and are eaten by the demons and monsters that dwell there. Why do you think I never let you out of the capital Underworld area? Many demons roam here, Nico, and most follow my orders. Monarchy, Nico, they need their own to help carry out my bidding. They are called Earls of the Underworld and are highly respected. Most were earls and royalty before becoming demons or monsters, hence the name. Demons are smarter than simple monsters like the ones you fight, which was what I was trying to say earlier. They will side more carefully, as well as make better decisions. They are smart enough to do my bidding.”

“ I do not trust kings and queens, even gods like you.” Earl Ciel said bitterly, but my Dad ignored him.

“ They follow my orders regardless and have other demons do the same. They are granted land, places, money and shared property above on the Earth.” Said my Father, “ Ciel is my favored Earl.”

“ I am?” Earl Ciel asked, lowering his glance. It seemed more out of slight anger and disbelief.

“ You were cheated, Ciel, never forget that.” Said my Dad, shooting him a soft glance.

“ How could I?” He said, and then looked at me. “ Very well, if I must do this. I don’t see any other way around it.” His eyes turned to a shade of blue, except for the one eye with the odd marking, which stayed the same in marking. The butler took out an eye patch and tied it, covering the oddly marked eye. “ I still don’t know why you insist on me not wearing my eye patch when I’m in this palace.”

My Dad ignored him again. “ Treat Ciel and Sebastian well.”

“ Fine.” I said, “ I won’t.”

“ And no eating him.” Said my Dad to Sebastian and Earl Ciel.

“ What kind of a demon do you think I am, honestly?” Said Earl Ciel, “ I do not eat every good soul that comes towards me.”

“ I wish to see how this works out.” Said Hades, “ stay here and leave with him.”

“ Yes Lord Hades.” Said Earl Ciel, and my Dad squinted.

“ You don't bow like the other ones.” Said my Dad, “ but that is what I like about you. You bow to no one.”

“ Never again.” Said Ciel, and he stood next to me. His butler stood next to him, and Ciel looked me up and down. I looked him up and down the same way. Earl Ciel was short, and rather handsome, almost artistic like a sculpture. He had a black suit on, and was really formal compared to myself. I surveyed my woren avaitor's jacket that was still to big for me, my ripped jeans and disheveled black t-shirt, my dirty black converse sneakers. The only item that he was wearing that wasn’t black was two rings, so in that way, his outfit was similar to mine. I eyed the rings, and looked around the throne room. Persephone had oddly been silent through the entire thing, but knowing her, she was probably happy to see that I was leaving soon.

     I walked in Persephone’s garden, Earl Ciel and Sebastian following close behind. We walked in silence for a long time, me just listening to their footsteps close behind, stopping to look around and look back at them. “ So.” I said, then realized I had nothing else lined up to say.

“ So?” Earl Ciel asked, waiting for the rest of the statement. I stayed silent, wondering what to say.

“ H-how much do you know about me?” I really did want to know, I didn’t know what my Dad told them and what he didn’t.

“ Well, I know that you have two sisters, one of which is deceased. I know that you flit from Camp to Camp, wandering mostly when you are above grounds, are skilled in séances, can control ghosts…you can do many things, Nico.” Said Earl Ciel, “ and your Father has told me much about you.” Earl Ciel looked around, first at Sebastian, then at me. “ You are an interesting boy.”

“ Thank you?” I said, I hadn’t been complemented by a demon before.

He nodded. “ When do you expect to leave the Underworld, Nico?” Earl Ciel asked, and I looked at the butler, who was already staring at me with an amused glare in his red, demonic eyes. 

“ Soon. And, how are you planning to get Sebastian in the camp?” I said, noticing Sebastian was too old to pass for a camper, unless it was Camp Jupiter, but even then it would be kind of odd. They’d also have to get past Reyna’s greyhounds, which wouldn’t be an easy task.

“ He can hide in the woods in Camp Half-Blood. I believe there are monsters in those woods, correct?” Earl Ciel said and I nodded. “ That is the plan for him. I shall go into the camp, and even though I am not his son, Hades will claim me. I will be placed in your cabin in order to protect you.”

“ Okay.” I said, “ so, I take it I can’t tell anyone that you're really a demon my Dad sent.”

“ No. Your protection is to be as covert and discreet as possible.” Earl Ciel said, “ and no one must know about Sebastian in the woods either.”

“ Alright.” I said, “ so, have you done this before?”

“ Protect a son of Hades? Obviously not.” Said Earl Ciel, “ but I have gone under cover several times in both my human years and my demon years.”

“ You weren’t born a demon,” I asked. Earl Ciel seemed to have a very demonic disposition. 

“ No, I wasn’t. Not all monsters are born that way, though you already know that.” Said Ciel, and Sebastian looked downwards, with a slightly discouraged look on his face. It quickly cleared, and he looked up. “ Sebastian, make sure that you do not make too much of a disturbance in the woods. The monsters in it might not be used to a demon like you.”

“ Indeed, Young Master. I will stay well hidden, even from them.” Said Sebastian, “ no one will know I am there except the two of you.”

         We continued to walk in silence mostly, but this time Ciel walked along side me.“ So, Earl Ciel-”

“ I hope you realize in the Camps just Ciel will be fine.” Earl Ciel said, “ yes, continue.”

“ When you were a human, you did detective stuff?” I said, that was what it sounded like.

“ I was the Queen of England’s Watchdog.” That explained the British dialects. “ Dealing with underground crimes and crimes that usually involved the arcane were my specialty.” Said Earl Ciel, “ but I was betrayed, and I refuse to tell you about that yet.”

“ Fair enough.” I said, wondering what the mark on his eye was about. Perhaps it was a reminder, like Daedalus was given by Athena after killing his nephew. I wondered how Sebastian came to be his servant, and decided to hold my curiosity in until a later time because I could tell like me, Earl Ciel didn’t enjoy talking about things that happened in the past. “ You're going to pull the wool over everyone’s eyes; the wolf in the pack of sheep.”

“ That is what I plan.” Said Ciel, “ only I am a wolf protecting a sheep.”

“ I still think they’re going to find out what you are, Earl Ciel.” I said, and he looked off to the side.

“ Humans are gullible sometimes. They will believe that I am a demigod, another son of Hades. That is unless you tell them.” Said Ciel, “ I am talented at hiding my true aura. Even Chiron and the satyrs will believe this, and if they don’t, then you must have told them. You know what happens when the sheep turns on the wolf that protects it, don’t you?”

“ The sheep stomp the wolf to death?”

“ No. The wolf tears apart all of the sheep in the pasture and is gone without a trace.”

“ My Father will turn on you.”

“ The gods and goddesses will shame him for thinking the idea of using demons to protect you would work. There would be war and disgrace on Hades. I don’t want that as much as you do, for Hades will kill Sebastian and I.”

“ So, if I tell, why don’t you simply leave?”

“ It sounds like your planning on it. I would not leave because then Hades will merely send someone else to do the task I was assigned. They might even be worse and more controlling than I. It will end the way I predicted, everyone in the camp will die if you tell, including yourself, even if another demon was given my assignment. It would be better to end such thought before you are tempted to carry it out.” Said Earl Ciel glancing at his butler, “ I think Hades is trying to kill us, Sebastian." He looked back at me. " If you don't tell them, no one will have to die, it’s as simple as that.”

“ I understand.” I said, “ you think my Dad is trying to kill me too?”

“ Nico, he’s sending you off with demons, probably thinking you’ll tell. Then, he’ll kill us because we didn't follow his orders. I never trust kings and queens, not after that day.” Said Earl Ciel, “ let’s go along with this plan, though. As long as you do not tell you will be fine, and I will protect you from serious danger as Hades told me too. I refuse to be the royal that fails this assignment.”

“ Indeed.” Said Sebastian, “ the shame that will bring you, Master…” Ciel nodded, and looked back at me.

“ So, this entire thing all depends on me not telling the people at camp you’re a demon?” I said and Ciel nodded.

“ Or that I’m not the son of Hades, or that I’m protecting you.” Said Ciel, “ even the slightest hint of this should not be said.”

“ I understand.” I said with a nod, and sat down on a bench. Ciel sat next to me on the bench, looking around. I stared at him, and when he stared back at me, we locked eyes. I could tell he was older than he seemed, but still young as far as demons went. I could see that he’d eaten many souls in that time, I could see that he had been through pain, lots and lots of pain, just like me. “ You know what, Ciel, you and Sebastian are the only demons that haven’t tried to kill me within 20 minutes.”

“ If you asked me, Nico, the whole monster half-blood half-blood monster dilemma is trivial. In the end, your kind won. No matter how many battles we fight, win, and lose now your people will have always truly won. We can never rise again if we die because of the foolishness of the monsters and giants. They should have never believed the titan’s empty promises.” Earl Ciel said, “ not all of us are on their side, you know. It’s getting harder to be on anyone’s side with all of the tension that has built up.”

“ Then why do you serve my Dad?” I asked, and Ciel scoffed slightly.

“ Serve? I do not 'serve' your Father, even if I am an Earl here. I do and say what I feel needs to be done, and I can do it because I am an Earl here. I use the power I have been bestowed and complete the assignments I have been given to their full extent. All demons must follow Hades’s orders, or else they’ll be exorcised and sent to Tartarus. And if we are, we cannot rise back from Tartarus. I plan on living.” Earl Ciel said, “ everyone’s watching their steps carefully, however, I have been doing so for decades.”

“ You never have to watch your step, Young Master, for I am here to protect you.” Said Sebastian, “ for all of eternity.”

“ Let’s see how long our lives last for now, Sebastian.” Said Ciel, “ protecting Nico might be the one assignment we die at doing.”

“ Now, now Young Master, I say you are getting a little too paranoid for your own good. Remember, at the camps you must act more relaxed, or they’ll suspect something.” Said Sebastian, “ and then our cover will be blown out of the water!”

“ I know, Sebastian, that’s all pending on-”

“ Me.” I said, “ I get that.”

“ Good, at least I know I’ve gotten something across.” Said Earl Ciel, “ when do you plan on going above ground again?”

“ Why? Have you not been there since you were human?” I said, “ you seem a bit antsy.”

“ No, in fact the last time I was above ground was last week.” Said Earl Ciel, “ and further more, I am not too anxious to go back up there.”

“ What were you doing above ground?” I said, and suspected it was nothing good.

“ What do you think I was doing above ground?” Earl Ciel said, and I reasoned it was for the best I didn't know.

“ It must be hard, not getting a break and all. A week long break and then you have to protect me for years until I die.” I said, and Sebastian snickered.

“ Your life will seem like a blink of an eye.” Said Sebastian, and I guessed that if you did live forever, a person’s life which only lasted roughly 100 years or less didn’t seem very long.

“ I still have a feeling even if you do die of old age Hades is going to blame us for something.” Said Earl Ciel with a hint of a sigh, “ but all factors in life are liable to change. However, once they have, you can never get them back to the way they originally were ever again.”

“ Yes, I couldn’t agree more.” I said, “ people will expect you to have the personality which you do at camp. For a son of Hades, it’s normal.”

“ I suppose.” Said Earl Ciel, “ you do seem like me in some ways.”

“ And body wise I’m year older than you.”

“ How did you know I was thirteen?”

“ I-I didn’t…I guessed. You are kind of short for a thirteen year old though.”

“ A year isn’t a long time.”

“ Why would it matter?”

“ I suppose it doesn’t.”

I looked above us at the stalactites, my curiosity getting to me now. “ How did Sebastian become your servant? Is he paid?” I looked back to them, and Ciel nodded at Sebastian, whom I could tell wanted some input to the conversation.

“ Payment, no. I shall never be paid. When the Earl was still a human, he had a delicious looking soul-”

“ You eat souls?”

“ Yes, I thought Lord Hades made that rather evident.”

“ Okay, continue.”

“ And, very bored, I made a contract with him to grant his wish. At the end of the contract, he would be my meal.”

“ So, that translates to you’d eat his soul.”

“ Yes.”

“ Okay, I won’t stop you again.”

“ A demon named Claude Faustus also wanted my Master’s soul. He attempted to steal it, which failed. You see, contracts only end either at the death of the contract's recipient or the eating of the recipient's soul by the contracted demon. Claude killed his Master, and put his Master's soul in with my Master's. His Master’s soul, which was stuck in my Master’s body, made a contract with a demoness named Hannah Anafeloz. His wish, which was to be completed by the contract, was to make neither demon happy. Claude was killed and never got my Master’s soul therefore making him unhappy, and Hannah made my Master into a demon, forcing me to serve him forever. Because the contract states that I must protect my Master until death and or eat his soul at the terms' completion, he is a demon, he shall not die, and I cannot eat his soul because he no longer has one. Our contract will remain for all of eternity.” Sebastian tilted his head slightly at the completion of the story. “ You don’t seemed disturbed by any of this.”

“ That’s because I’m not.” I said, and he smiled. It didn't take you long to figure out just how charismatic Sebastian was; much like a demon to have that quality. 

“ That’ll be good for you in the long run.” Said Sebastian, “ most humans would have been scared off by the mere thought of a demon in their presence. However, I do suppose you are not a normal human, or else demons not under contract would have eaten you already. A son of Hades…anything involved with you brings prestige to and Earl such as my Young Master. Some acts on you bring more prestige than others however. For example, courting you would bring more prestige than merely protecting you. The soul or thing that does this is lucky and exalted.” When Sebastian said this, Earl Ciel’s eyes opened wide and he blushed.

“ Sebastian!” Said Earl Ciel, “ do not embarrass me!”

“ I was just giving examples, My Lord, they are nothing of embarrassment unless you take them in improperly.”

“ I didn’t see anything wrong with them.” I admitted, “ and, what prestige would dating an Earl of the Underworld bring upon a son of Hades, Sebastian?”

“ Well, if the relationship was mutual, it would bestow quite a lot. However, you and the Seven closed Tartarus. It took many Earls to smooth that over. Your reputation is badly marred, but you are still respected as you are the son of the Hades, one of our numerous Kings. If you were to court an Earl of the Underworld, you would restore a prestige that would be envied by other sons of Hades.” Sebastian smiled at me. “ That is mainly because no son of Hades has ever courted an Earl of the Underworld or vice-versa. Yes, our only way of ever coming back to this world would be closed forever because of you, but doing such an act would be a good enough sign of remorse.”

“ What if I do not rem-”

“ It doesn’t matter. Anything to keep us from killing you.” Sebastian’s smile never dulled during the conversation. “ Yes, many Earls of the Underworld kill children of Hades and many children of Hades kill Earls of the Underworld. They don’t often get along. However, if the courting were to happen, it would be an odd turnabout. It might set off other generations, and they might reopen Tartarus for demons exclusively if they learned to get along.” Earl Ciel did not speak a word, even though he was staring at me. His stare was soft, though, not harsh. It gave me butterflies, and not only ones out of nervousness. This made me grimace because he was a demon, and I didn't feel right developing feelings for him no matter how small they were. 

“ Well, anyways.” I said, “ I told Percy I was going to meet him at 6 by Half-Blood Hill.”

“ It’s 6:30 now.” Said Sebastian, looking at his pocket-watch. “ Tsk, tsk. It’s rather rude to keep someone waiting unless they made you wait for them.”

“ He’ll understand, Percy usually understands.” I said, shadow-traveling into a wall with Earl Ciel and Sebastian behind me.

　

     “ Percy, you’ll never believe what just happened!” I said, looking quickly behind me. There was Ciel, looking confused. His eyes were blue, and he looked human. His suit was now a pair of crumpled and ripped jeans and accompanied by a not-so-meticulous white t-shirt. Peleus the dragon sniffed the air, took a look at Ciel, and then laid back down for his nap. I looked back from Peleus to Ciel as the sign of Hades glowed above his head. “ I, uh, I have a brother!”

      Ciel was the buzz around Camp, which I didn’t think he was expecting. After he was old news (which took a few hours,) Ciel finally got to the Hades table at the middle of dinner and sat rather close to me. “ Is it always like this?” Ciel asked, and I shook my head.

“ Your just a son of Hades. Wait till Clarisse gets to you.” I snickered at the thought of Ciel trying to ward Clarisse off with British insults that she didn't understand. 

“ She already has.” Ciel looked down at his meal and continued to eat. I’d gladly lost track of him and ditched him within a few minutes of our arrival, which was easy due to the fact that a person kept talking to him. However, now he had found me. I sort of felt bad for leaving him to get dunked by Clarisse, but then again he was a demon.

“ And?” I said, yet he didn’t say anything. “ Don’t take it personally, Ciel. She’s a jerk to everyone except Chris and that's her idea of a welcoming to camp.”

“ I’m not taking it personally.” He scoffed. “ I have vengeance planned for later.”

 “ Ciel, that’s a really bad idea.” I said, “ you don’t want to mess with Clarisse-she'll get you back 10 times harder.”

“ Oh please, Nico. I’ve already taken many risks today.” Said Ciel, “ I’m not afraid to take a few more.” _As long as they don’t blow your own cover. Because what you're saying isn’t risky, really, even if this whole thing wasn’t a plot I’d still understand that. You really are a tricky demon._ I looked around and saw everyone sitting at their tables and discussing the day. They had no idea what Ciel was, only he and I did. They had no idea he was what we were trained and training to fight. I didn’t know exactly how I felt about that.

     After dinner it was time to play the weekly game of Capture the Flag. I told Ciel how to play it as we walked to our flag. “ We always lose.” I informed him as I hid the flag in a new place-this week, like almost every other week, my cabin was the last one to be chosen in the decision of teams. “ But maybe we won’t. You guard the flag, okay?” Ciel nodded.

“ Don’t bloody yourself up too badly, alright?” His eyes flickered to red and back for a moment as though he was trying to remind me of the whole assignment that had gone down between him and my Dad. 

“ Okay.” I said with a hint of my hatred for the plan, and the game begun.


	2. The Demonic Entity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the unusual Capture the Flag victory and a few odd happenings, a demonic entity is suspected at the camp.

    I found the Hermes kids stumped. “ What is it?” I saw that the other team's flag was missing, but that was normal, so I wondered why they were looking so shocked.

“ I-It’s gone!” One said, “ we put it up for like 20 minutes and it’s gone!”

" Yeah," his partner added. " We didn't even see who took it!" 

“ That’s weird.” I said, but inside I was like _oh hell no you didn’t, Ciel._

“ I know right?!” Said the girl, and I went on.

    I found that it was a similar case with my own team's flag. The flag was gone without a trace, and no one saw who took it. Chiron called all the cabins into the arena to see the winner of the game. By the time I got there with the kids from Apollo's cabin, everyone was muttering and looking confused. “ Where are the flags?” Chiron announced, looking around for the winner. I frantically looked around for Ciel, and found him. He was walking towards the arena, holding the two flags.

“ You mean these?” He asked, and everyone looked stunned.

“ How did you do it, Ciel?” I asked him, and he smiled.

“ Why, dear brother, I used shadow-traveling!” Said Ciel overly dramatic tone and a slight smile, “ the rules said nothing about that, did they? No one told me loopholes about this game, so I assumed we were supposed too.”

“ How did you find our flag when you barely know the camp?” Said Annabeth walking forward with a look of aggravation. She was right, their flag was hard to find. My heart began to beat fast and I waited for Ciel’s answer.

“ I shadow traveled to the top of the climbing wall and took out a pair of binoculars." From under one of the flags Ciel took out a pair of binoculars. “ I looked for the flag from there.”

“ That is a rather smart tactic.” Chiron said to Ciel, and he nodded.

“ Thank you.” Said Ciel, and Percy stepped forward.

“ Though, you don’t have to steal your own team’s flag.” Percy said, and Ciel tilted his head slightly.

“ See, no one told me that. I’ve never played this game before.” Said Ciel, “ I just knew it involved taking flags.” I calmed down, seeing that everyone bought it. We all went to the campfire after that.

   Our team gloated a bit over the victory, and people kept arguing about the teams for next week and who would get Hades cabin. Ciel was ambushed again, and this time I stayed with him through it because when I tried to walk away, he grabbed my arm. I actually got my own personal ambush, so at least I got to ignore Ciel. A few Aphrodite girls winked at him and me as we passed by. “ Is this normal when one wins this game?” Ciel asked, and I nodded.

“ Pretty much, also don't forget, you made a big show out of it.” I said, sitting. He sat next to me, and they begun to sing a few campfire songs. Neither Ciel nor I sung, and when it was over, we went back to the cabin.

         I tossed and turned for a few hours, and I felt like something was watching me even though I was in the top bunk. That and the fact of how dark it was didn't help me, but then I reasoned that Ciel was there. If he was assigned to protect me by my Dad, maybe he wouldn't kill me. “ You didn’t really use those binoculars, did you Ciel?” I asked quietly. No doubt everyone was asleep, and the answer wouldn’t come if someone was around.

“ No.” Ciel said quietly, “ I used an excuse to go to the bathroom and told Sebastian to do it.”

“ You sneaky little-”

“ Has the Hades cabin ever won a game of Capture the Flag before?”

“ No.”

“ Didn’t you like how the winning made you feel? Girls shrouded you, people talked highly of you.”

“ Well, yeah. It did feel pretty good to win.”

“ See, you liked the victory I brought you.” Said Ciel, “ it still bothers you that I am a demon, doesn't it?” I couldn’t lie that it was still bothering me, and that state of being bothered was increasing.“ You feel distanced, don’t you? From most of the campers that is.”

“ Yeah.”

“ I could tell; I could also tell you like to sing as much as I do.”

“ Yeah.” I laughed slightly, “ you're not that bad, Ciel. You could be worse, and I could hate you.” As odd and mixed as my feelings for him were, I didn't see them fully as hate, but more so annoyance, kind of like Jules-Albert, but only less dead. 

“ I suppose.” Ciel said, “ you don’t hate me?”

“ No.” I said, “ I have no reason to solidly hate you.” The fact that he was a demon rolled into my head again. It made me think of Tartarus, and I quickly cut the thought off short. Ciel didn't seem like any of the ones I'd met there really. I looked at my hands-usually I'd start fading out from using my powers or doing a lot like I had that day. But, I wasn't. It was weird. 

“ Good.” Said Ciel; I looked over the side of the bed. His hand hung loftily off the side of the bed. I pushed myself off farther and looked down at him. He was already asleep. I laughed slightly and slid back onto my bunk, falling asleep myself.

     When I awoke, the cabin was no longer messy. Much like Percy, I usually was close to last on cabin inspection’s cleaning. But overnight the cabin was cleaned, and I even noticed a hint of cedar incense. Then I remembered, _demon butler._ I assumed in the night Sebastian had snuck in and soundlessly cleaned the cabin-the thought of him being in the cabin while I slept suddenly made me feel cautious. I got dressed, and woke up Ciel whom was sound asleep. He opened his eyes, and they were the demonic shade of red. He closed his eyes for a few seconds, and when he opened them they were blue again. He put on a different eye patch, and then I wondered how he got his clothes, seeing as he wore a new pair of faded blue jeans and a Camp Half-Blood t-shirt. _Oh, yeah. Demon butler. Man, that guy’s pretty impressive. I mean, he can get clothes and clean this cabin all in one night? That is one hell of a butler he has. Then again, he did sell his soul to him, so he had to become good at his act._

“ Nico why are you staring at me?”

“ Huh?” I blinked and realized I’d been staring at him. “ Oh, sorry Earl Ciel.”

“ You don’t have to call me that here, what did I tell you yesterday?”

“ It was just as risky as taking the flag.”

“ Fine. We’re even then, let’s just-”

     Katie Gardener, the cabin inspector, knocked on the cabin door. “ Coming!” I said and opened it for her. Her eyes opened wide as she walked into the cabin.

“ Whoa.” Said Katie, “ this place looks really different, you and Ciel must’ve really got to work at it after the campfire!”

“ Yes, mostly Nico did it though.” Said Ciel, “ I was taking a shower.”

“ You know after lights out you're not supposed to showers or leave the cabins, right?”

“ Oh! Sorry, I thought that was a sort of freetime!” 

“ It’s a good thing a Harpy didn’t catch you.”

“ What’s that?”

“ Nico, you have got to have Chiron give him a tour of this place and tell him the rules.”

“ Will do, Katie.” I said, and she smiled, wrote something on her board, then went off.

     “ Ciel, you do have to learn the rules. Also, start making better excuses! Preferably ones that don't make me look bad.” I whispered loudly, just as there was holler of anger outside. I drew my sword and looked out the doorway. Clarisse came into my sight, she was in her pajamas, looking like she just got out of bed. I saw some campers snickering, but as soon as she looked their way, they stopped.

     “ WHO TOOK MY CLOTHES!?” She yelled, and I looked at Ciel, who was giving an evil smile. _Oh shit you little shit, what is with you damn it?!_ Clarisse came marching over, and picked up Ciel, who's smile faded. She literally lifted him off the ground. 

“ Unhand me, you meaty orge!” Ciel said, angrily. I was scared for a minute his eyes would flicker or do something demonic like that, but they didn’t. Clarisse’s eyes looked like they were about to go demonic though, and I had an ounce of respect towards him for managing to rile her up so much.

“ What are you going to do about it, you little piece of shit?” She said, and I saw him grit his teeth, as I prayed that he wouldn’t do something demonic.

“ Clarisse!” Chris came running. “ They found your clothes.”

" Where are they?” She said with vague desperation, throwing Ciel at me. I recoiled as Ciel flew right into me, however he was really light for some reason. Sense we were turned from everyone else, he flashed a smile which quickly went away. He turned around, looking bewildered as though he did not believe what had happened to him.

“ The flagpole.” Said Chris, “ at the top.” Clarisse angrily went off swearing, Chris following behind her.

I got closer to Ciel, and whispered in his ear.“ Sebastian?”

He nodded with the evil smile on his face, then whispered back to me. “ I told him to avenge my honor.” Ciel backed away, and I grabbed his arm.

“ You can’t keep doing crap like this!” I whispered to him, and he looked down at me holding his arm.

“ I don’t plan on it, I’m merely settling in.” Said Ciel quietly, briskly pulling his arm out of my grasp and walking out of the cabin.

   Breakfast was a whir, and everyone was laughing now about Clarisse’s clothes ending up mysteriously on the flag-pole. Some Hermes kid took the credit for it before Clarisse came in, and only Ciel and I knew he was lying. As soon as Clarisse walked in, however, conversations quickly changed. Ciel and I didn’t talk at all through breakfast though. After breakfast, a pudgy little satyr came in." Chiron has declared that all demigods must report to the arena immediately after breakfast!" He announced before taking a can of red bull that had been put into recycling to gnaw on. 

       “ A demonic entity was suspected to be here by one of the Harpies.” Said Chiron, taking a silent count to make sure at least almost everyone was in the arena. Near him was a flock of crows, all caged in a large black wired cage. They cawed in the cage, filling the arena with noise and making everyone flinch. “ Crows are birds with special power. They often flock to demons sense some demonic entity’s real forms can be avian.” Even over the crows, Chiron’s voice was loud and clear. “ If the crows flock to a person here or circle above them, that means they are a demon. If they fly off, there are no demons and this was a false alarm.” Mutters arose, and I looked at Ciel. He didn’t look at me, but at the crows. He seemed focused on them, like he was zoned out on them. I decided it was best not to break his concentration, and looked at the crows. Chiron opened the cage and the crows all flew off in different directions, none of them remotely near Ciel. As soon as the arena went silent again, Chiron announced the false alarm.

   Back at the cabin, I sat in my bunk, thinking. I’d brought these monsters into Camp. I had a demon masquerading as my brother. If everyone at the Camp was killed by them it would be all my fault. My thoughts about Ciel and Sebastian quickly turned more and more sour. _Oh gods…_ I was startled by a knock on the door.

“ Nico?” I heard Percy’s voice from outside, and it gave me a little bit of comfort. I opened the door, and let him in. “ You okay? Today you’ve been a little tense, and I noticed it at the game and this morning.”

“ No, I-I’m fine.” I said, and he sat on Ciel’s bunk, remembered it was now Ciel’s bunk and not just an empty one, then got off of it. I’d noticed our bunks were nicely made when I’d came in. Now Ciel’s was a little ruffled, but nothing major.

“ I know your not.” Said Percy, “ I told you that you could tell me about anything. Is it something about Tartarus? I know you were disturbed for a while after that and still are. Will asked me if I noticed anything up with you earlier, but told him I'd take care of it.”

“ No, it’s not about Tartarus.” I said, “ it’s just, well…I have a brother, you know. I’m not used to this-with Hazel it was different, but with Ciel...”

“ It’s going to be easier then having a sister.” Said Percy, “ is something wrong with you and Ciel?”

“ No.” I said, “ it’s just, whenever I was here I was alone.”

“ So, this was sort of a me-time for you?”

“ I guess.”

“ Oh, I see. Yeah, he does kind of follow you wherever you go.” Percy said, “ it’s probably just a stage. Besides, Clarisse is still picking on him, and this place is new. He just doesn’t want to be alone. You watch, once he makes a few friends you’ll be able to have all the me-time you want. That’s usually how it goes.” _Oh, Percy, if only you knew the truth._ I thought, _this isn’t a stage. He’s a demon, he has a demon butler in the woods who's cleaning the cabin-that's not too bad though-and doing all this shit to Clarisse whenever she picks on him-that’s not too bad though either-we could all die if I told you though! Why, Dad, what did I do to deserve this? I hate lying to you, Percy. I’m so sorry._ I tears stung my eyes and I grabbed my mouth before choking with the tears. Percy patted me on the back. “ Are you sure that’s it, Nico?”

“ I just, Bianca…I remember how her and I were new here.” I said, lying again. As soon as I said that, a bitter acidic taste rose from the back of my throat and into my mouth. Something inside me made me feel sick and angry at myself. I was mentioning her in a lie, a lie to protect demons, and she was a Hunter of Artemis whom was supposed to fight them for her entire immortal life. “ Oh gods.” The tears got worse just as Ciel walked in.

“ What’s wrong?!” He asked, a look of concern coming across his pale face. Anger suddenly welled inside me, becoming hard to hold in.

“ Ciel, Nico needs some time alone, okay? Go back to what you were doing, he’ll be fine.” Said Percy, but Ciel walked more into the cabin.

“ Well, what’s wrong with him?”

“ Get out!” I yelled at Ciel, and he staggered back.

“ I guess I don’t need to know.” Ciel said, and walked out unphased.

“ He is a little weird.” Said Percy when Ciel was gone. “ A lot has happened at Camp sense he got here, and Camp itself without anything dangerous is overwhelming. I know how that feels. He’s probably still confused about the crows and stuff. Also, he‘s British, right? He‘s probably still adjusting to this country in general, and that just got a heck of a lot harder.”

“ That demon thing hasn’t happened before.” I said, calming down slightly. Crying somehow made me feel a little better. I climbed to my bunk and sat on it, and Percy climbed up and sat with me.

“ I know.” Said Percy, “ but with Tartarus and everything, the monsters and demons are starting to get angry. This is just the beginning of the end.” _You have no idea._ I choked back tears again.

“ I know.” I said, softly, “ I know.”

   

     Percy left when Annabeth came and told him he was needed for some new campers who wanted to try sword-combat before the weekend was over in order to not get completely pulverized in sword-combat that week. He went, and as soon as he was gone I closed my eyes, listening to the cabin door close and their footsteps fade.

“ Well then, Master di Angelo.” I turned to see Sebastian, whom had appeared near the bunk. He went to Ciel’s bunk and began to fix the ruffles in it. Sense the door was closed, no one could see into the cabin or hear anything due to sound absorbing marble I put in when they‘d built the cabin after the Battle of New York.

“ This is causing quite a stir.”

“ It’s all your fault.”

“ We know.”

“ Where is Ciel anyways?”

“ Sword training. They’ll be quite surprised, Young Master fences often, and I think swordplay will be easy to catch onto for him.” Sebastian looked up at me and climbing the bunk's ladder slightly to get a better look at me. “ I’m surprised your not out there, people are already thinking that something’s wrong with you.” I fought the urge to kick him off of the ladder. 

“ Well, there is, and I’m looking at it.”

“ I think this is more of a problem for you than us.”

“ Yeah, because you're soulless demons who don’t give a damn about anyone but yourselves.”

Sebastian chuckled. “ Oh, you think that's it? The Young Master seems to be taking a liking to you, how he will take this when he finds this out?”

“ He already knows. He just likes me because I’ll give him 'power and prestige.'”

“ My, my aren't you the cynical one.”

“ I have my reasons.”

“ Indeed, though he really does enjoy your company, Master Nico.”

“ Yeah, well-”

“ Oh will you just listen to me?” He looked a little irritated, and because my sword was in the corner and he was obviously a very fast demon, I sighed and decided to listen. 

“ Okay, fine.”

“ You’re the only human Young Master has been fond of or showed interest in for over 115 years. Your going to give in, Master Nico, demons have a way of getting what they want.”

“ Whatever you say Mr. Satanic Niles.”

“ Niles? Comparing me to a butler from an 80's American program is that the best insult you can think of?” Sebastian smiled and shook his head. “ You’ll have to think of sassier ones for a later date.” 

“ Whatever, could you just go away already?”

“ Fortunately, I don’t follow your orders yet. Now, go join the merriment.”

“ But I don’t want to.”

“ Now, now, will I have to possess you and make you walk outside then leave you there?” He smiled at the thought of the challenge.

“ They’ll exorcise you.”

“ Oh, what a blessing that would be. A nice long break before the demons open Tartarus!” 

“ What?”

“ You heard me. You think closing Tartarus is going to work? That’s nonsense. The demons and monsters will reopen it if the demigods do not.”

“ Get out.”

“ I don’t-”

“ Get the fuck out of my cabin.”

“ No.” Everything went black and painful for a second and I was outside, and the cabin door was locked.

“ Dammit.” I whispered, and went off to do something.

        “ Hey! Nico!” An Aphrodite girl walked up to me. “ Have you seen that hot little British brother of yours?”

“ Why? And his name’s Ciel.”

“ Hot British boy, Ciel, whatever. Where is he?”

“ How the heck should I know, he’s his own person.” I said, and realized he was behind me.

“ Hi Ciel!” The girl pushed past me and went over to Ciel. “ How are you?” I suddenly remembered Sebastian telling me that I was the only human Ciel was interested in 115 years. I began to wonder in what manner he liked me when I saw his unamused face, but he quickly smiled politely at the Aphrodite girl. I could tell the smile was fake, because after a lot of my fake smiles, I knew what one looked like. 

“ I’m fine, thank you.”

“ How would you like to meet me by the lake in ten minutes?”

“ Alright, sure.” Said Ciel, and she walked away.

“ Your going to ditch her, aren’t you?” I said when she was out of the line of hearing. 

“ No, that would be rude.” Ciel said, his fake smile quickly fading. 

“ What do you care about being rude?”

“ Quite a lot, actually.”

“ Have fun at the lake.” I walked away as he went, wondering how long it would take Sebastian to clean the cabin again, or if I‘d even be let in until nightfall.


	3. Demons in the Woods

       I found Annabeth walking around, so I decided to talk to her. “ What’s up, Nico,” She said. " I heard that British brother of yours has been giving you a tough time." 

“ I'm not really doing much today, what are you doing?” I said, ignoring the last part of her introduction. She looked around to make sure no one else was around.

“ Don’t tell anyone.” She pulled me into the Big House, which was empty. “ Those crows are specially trained to find demons. They went into the woods, and are flocking there. That means-”

“ There’s a demon in the woods.” I said, and she nodded.

“ Chiron and Mr. D are having people like Percy and I search it. This demon is an ancient, and so they must mean business, as in destroying the camp. With Tartarus and everything, we’re not taking any chances, but I think this demon must have a suicide wish. I mean, even the stupidest ones wouldn’t mess with us after everything.“ Said Annabeth, “ we were going to ask you to help us.” _Oh hell no…they’re looking for Sebastian. Sebastian…._ ” You in?”

“ Yeah, I’m in.” I said, _I have to warn Sebastian. Oh my gods…I feel like such a traitor…_

“ Oh, and don’t tell your little brother, okay?” Said Annabeth, “ Percy told me about what happened in the cabin, and Chiron doesn’t want the other campers to panic. We have a lot of new ones this year.”

“ Okay, I’ll be sure not to tell him.” I said, _oh gods, should I tell him? Sebastian will tell him, oh gods…why, Dad? Why?_

“ Well, come on, I need a partner and I want to comb the woods one more time before lunch.”

“ Okay.”

   

     “ If this demon was smart he’d hide in the shadows.” I said, “ some place dark in the woods, it’d be more like the Underworld.”

“ I’ve checked every dark place in the woods.” Said Annabeth, “ and let me tell you, those nocturnal nymphs do not like to be woken up.”

“ I see.” I said, “ maybe he’s hiding in the light, or the trees.”

“ Percy and Clarisse are going into those sections.” Said Annabeth, “ but we can comb the dark areas again.” I heard a rustle, and Annabeth followed it, running to catch up with it. I followed her. The rustle didn’t sound anything like a squirrel or deer, but bigger. _Oh no, please don't Sebastian._ I thought as Annabeth and I ran. Suddenly a crow swooped down very closely in front of her, and she had to stop. It went back into a branch and cawed angrily at her. Everything was quiet, the rustle was gone.

“ I think this demon might have the crows on their side.”

“ You think?” Annabeth turned around and her forehead was cut; the crow had attacked her. She wiped at the blood on her forehead, and looked back at the crow. It was gone. “ Did you hear it fly away?”

“ No.” I admitted, and her eyes opened wide.

“ We have an avian demon on our hands. Demons can change to human forms, animals, their true forms.” Annabeth said, and she coughed and fell to her knees.

“ Annabeth!” I yelped, and went over to her. She gripped my arms but she looked woozy. “ Percy! Someone! Help!” Annabeth fell, and her eyes were closed. I kneeled down and took her by the shoulders, shaking her a little bit. Her head lolled to one side. “ Oh come on Annabeth-” there was a rustle and I turned to see Sebastian. “ You! You did this to her!” I sneered, and he squinted angrily.

“ If I had done this why would I help you? There is another demon in this woods.” Said Sebastian, “ and you’ve just encountered her.”

“ Her?”

“ Her.”

“ Dammit Sebastian I don’t believe you!” I let Annabeth down on the ground gently. 

“ Do you want Ms. Chase to die or not?”

“ What are you going to do?” Sebastian knelt next to Annabeth and began to chant in latin. “ What the hell, Sebastian?!” He continued to chant, and stopped when Annabeth gave an affirmative cough. Before she opened her eyes Sebastian disappeared in thin air, and I didn’t get to thank him.

“ What happened?” Said Annabeth, and I explained a lie of what happened again as we went to lunch.

 _Maybe demons aren’t so bad. Maybe having him and Ciel around is beneficial. Hey, I’m not a traitor, look what Sebastian did for Annabeth. Sure, if I get caught I’ll probably get killed, but if I don’t-_ “ Nico, your staring at me again.” Said Ciel, and I realized that I was. “ Not that I mind that though.”

“ Okay.” I said, straightening sense I’d been hunched over. “ How’d the meeting with the Aphrodite girl go?”

“ She wasn’t my type, but she said she was just doing it so the girls in Aphrodite cabin would except her. We faked it, and also faked a break up by noon.” Said Ciel, “ I don’t think she gained Piper’s respect, but she gained the other girls’. Good for her, I wasn’t looking forward to hurting an Aphrodite girl. They might gossip about me and you know what that’ll lead to.”

“ Oh.” I said, “ well, that’s good I guess.”

“ Indeed.” Ciel said, and I made a silent note to myself to tell Ciel later about what’d happened in the woods.

      After lunch Percy and I searched the woods. “ How’d training go,” I asked him.

“ Your brother’s wicked good at sword-play. He beat all of the beginners in the class.” Said Percy with a nod, “ he told me he’d fenced before though.”

“ Yeah. When I found him he was fighting off a monster with a fencing sword, no wonder he’s getting along fine.”

“ Nico, do you know what happened to his eye?”

“ He was fighting a monster in November and it had spikes. It didn’t end well.”

“ Ow, that had to hurt.” Percy stopped, and thought about something. I was worried for a couple of seconds before he asked his next question. “ Is he dating that Aphrodite girl?”

“ No, it was part of the whole initiation thing they have going on in that cabin.”

“ Oh, so that’s why Piper looked upset at her-I know she hates that stuff.”

“ Yeah, Ciel said she wasn’t his type anyways.”

“ That’s good.” I wanted to tell Percy about Annabeth being poisoned by the crow, but figured that was something for Annabeth to tell him. Almost as if on thought, I heard a crow caw. It was sitting in a branch, and nearly flew into Percy’s face before another crow counteracted it, and the two crows began to fight on the ground. One was bigger than the other, and the other seemed to be losing. “ Percy, run!” I yelled, and he looked confused, so I started running and he followed. When we were far enough away, we were both panting like dogs.

“ What was that? The crows are supposed to help us!” Said Percy, and I shook my head.

“ That was not a crow.” I said, “ one attacked Annabeth. Luckily I had some ambrosia, or she would’ve died.” _Wait, was that other crow-_ I remembered my Dad’s voice. _“ Crow-raven demons”_ and Annabeth’s, _“ demons can change from human forms, animal forms-”_ then I realized, the smaller crow counteracting larger crow was Ciel.

       That night at dinner my faith was completely in my two demon protectors. I no longer felt any lament, and Ciel noticed this. I also noticed the bandages on Ciel’s arms extending up, and a few scratches on his face. “ What happened?” I asked him, and he lowered his eyes.

“ You know exactly what happened.” He said darkly, and now I knew that the crow was indeed Ciel. “ What the bloody hell were you thinking?”

“ Look-Ciel, I’ll explain this later.”

“ Fine. Meet me in the cabin after dinner.”

“ Yes Ciel.”

       “ So, they’ve suspected a demon in the woods, and there is two?”

“ Yes, Sebastian said the other one means harm to the Camp.” I said, and Ciel sighed.

“ He helped me, that other crow demon could’ve killed me.” Said Ciel, and I sat next to him on his bunk.

“ Thank you.” I said, and he leaned against me slightly.

“ I’m tired.” Ciel wrapped his arm around my back, holding the other side on my waist.

“ It’s fine, Ciel. I think I know why the Aphrodite girl wasn’t your type.” I said, putting my head on his shoulder. I wondered if the whole being tired thing was an excuse, but then again he did get injured, so he must have been. Not only did I feel concern, but something else that had nagged on me ever sense I met him in the Underworld. I sighed, there was no escaping it, and I didn't feel like going through with all of the awkwardness that would come from the fact that at the moment we were basically cuddling. “ Can we be, you know-”

“ Of course, I wouldn‘t have it any other way, would you?”

“ No.” I said, “ we’ll have to keep this hidden, just like the fact you’re a demon. Because, sure, a girl from Athena can date a boy from Poseidon, but dating in the same cabin is unheard of.” 

“ Of course.” Ciel nodded, “ I realize that, the only person I’ll tell is Sebastian.”

“ Why Sebastian?”

“ He’s my butler, he has to know these things. Besides, he doesn’t come around the Camp, it’s not as if he’s going to tell anyone.”

“ True.” I said, and he let go of me, laying down next to me.

“ I’m going to take a nap, don’t wake me.” He said, I got off of his bed and walked out of the cabin.

       I didn’t know why, but I felt as though I should find where Sebastian was hiding. I went into the woods and walked. I walked faster when crows came by, but none of them cawed at me. They all just stared at me as I passed, like they knew I was in cohorts with demons. Other than the incessant cawing of crows in the distance, the forest was nice and peaceful. I heard a twig snap behind me, and turned. It was no other than Sebastian, whom I think had purposely stepped on the twig to get my attention. “ Looking for me, Master Nico?” He asked, tilting his head slightly, a small smile on his face.

“ Yeah.” I said, “ to make sure that when I look with people in the woods for the demons, I don’t find you. I wanted to know where you were hiding.”

“ In truth, Master Nico, I don’t stay in one place.” Said Sebastian, “ and I do not wish you to continue searching with them.” His face darkened, and in the fading light that sifted through the trees and overcast, he looked especially menacing. 

“ Why?”

“ You nearly got my Young Master killed first of all.”

“ Weren’t you the one who said-”

“ Second of all if you were my Master, I wouldn’t let you go through with this because it endangers your life." He had a hint of irritation in his voice, and his eyebrow flinched like he was reprimanding a wanton child. " But you are not, and ever the same, I have to protect my Master.”

“ And I have to protect my home,” I countered defensively.

Sebastian sighed. “ Your father is right about you being difficult once you have a major goal. In that way, I see my Master in you. Much like you, he will cut down anything that stands in the way of his goal, even an elder‘s judgment.”

“ Listen Sebastia-” A crow swooped down, but before it was a half inch from my face, Sebastian grabbed it and snapped it’s neck.

“ It is not safe here.” Said Sebastian, looking at the dead crow in the grip of his white glove. “ Can’t you see that? Are you that feeble-minded that you cannot abandon something lest you fall to pieces? I would suggest we flee to Camp Jupiter immediately.”

“ But I have to ensure that this place is safe first.”

“ Master Nico, pure evil is afoot here. I have seen it destroy entire cities, and no one has made it out alive.”

“ You, a demon, are chickening out.”

“ Not 'chickening out.' Protecting, that’s what my Master and I are supposed to do, nothing more and nothing less. We should leave by nightfall.”

“ Sebastian-” he disappeared before I even finished my sentence.

      I walked back to the cabin and saw that Ciel was still asleep. He looked sad and peaceful when he sleeping, and I realized I should sleep too. I crawled up into my bunk and fell asleep, not eager to be awakened.

      The tides changed the next morning. Ciel woke me up, already dressed. “ We’ll be late for breakfast if you don’t get ready now.”

“ Ciel, if I got up ten minutes later-”

“ Punctuality is something I believe you need to work on.” Ciel said, and I snickered slightly.

“ Fine, for you.” I said, and I got dressed. We went to breakfast, and no one was there yet. The ever present line was not present for once.

“ We’re early.” I said to Ciel as we went to go get our food.

“ Exactly.” Ciel said, “ I figured that because everyone is probably at some point between the cabin door and their bunks there would be no line.” I nodded, groggily taking my food and sitting at the table, then taking a bite of my food. Ciel sat alongside me, not like usual, because usually in the short time we were there he sat across from me, except for when he'd first got there.

“ I wonder what my Dad will think about, you know, us.”

“ I wonder.” Said Ciel, “ he’ll probably be happy. He’s been looking for a way to connect the children of Hades with the Earls of the Underworld for years. You’re the only generation of children whom he hadn’t tried to make coexist with us, and it angers him that we don’t get along.”

“ Well, you and I do.” I said, and he nodded.

“ Indeed, perhaps that was his plan.” Said Ciel, “ but you and I will never know.”

“ I tend to not care about what he thinks about me, he loved Bianca more than me after all.”

“ He says that out of grief.”

“ Why did he let her reincarnate then?”

“ He wanted her to be happy.” 

" How do you know this?”

“ Demons can sense emotions.”

“ Wait, so you know how I feel?”

“ Yes.”

“ Okay, tell me how I feel.”

“ Nico, you know how you feel. Why should I merely restate what is there?”

“ You know, if I had the powers you do, I would’ve said the same thing.”

“ Perhaps that’s why Hades assigned this job to Sebastian and I.” Ciel said, beginning to eat. He’d somehow conjured up a piece of chocolate cake.

“ That’s not good to eat in the morning.” I said, and he shrugged.

“ When you’re my age all rules that apply to what you eat fall into the category of being unnecessary.” Said Ciel, “ I have had chocolate cake for every meal of the day, not in the same day however. On that matter you sound like Sebastian, because he always tries to dissuade me from eating chocolate cake as a meal other than dessert or snack.” I looked down at my food, suddenly wanting Ciel to turn it into cake.

“ No,” Ciel said, knowing what I was thinking. 

“ Okay, why not?”

“ Fine.” Said Ciel with a sigh and he turned my breakfast into chocolate cake. “ Everyone’s going to wonder where we got this from.”

“ Who cares?” I said with a smile, “ it’s good.”

“ It is.” Said Ciel, “ just like the cakes that Sebastian makes.”

“ He’s really good at cooking, then.” I said, and Ciel nodded.

“ Took him a couple weeks to perfect it,” Said Ciel.

“ A few weeks to make cake like this? He is one hell of a butler.”

“ Indeed.” Said Ciel, just as a few campers came in.

“ Where’d you get that cake?” One asked, and Ciel shrugged.

“ There were only two pieces left here.” Said Ciel with a slight smile. Disappointed, they got their breakfast and eyed our pieces of cake.

       After breakfast I decided to totally avoid the cabin because I figured maybe Sebastian was in there or something. I walked around sort of aimlessly, and turned back to see Ciel was following me. We both walked in silence until we got to the edge of the forest. “ If you're going in, you're going in with me.” Ciel whispered in my ear.

“ I can’t.” I said, “ Percy said not to tell you.”

“ Do you always follow advice?”

“ No.”

“ See?”

“ YO DI ANGELO!” I turned to see Clarisse, and to see Ciel had disappeared much like Sebastian had in the woods.

“ Hey Clarisse.” I said, and went over to her.

“ Ready to go into the woods?”

“ Any time.” I said, and we went.

     No crows came near us, and everything was quiet with the rare occasion of a few nymphs, whom said to have seen 2 different demons walking around. “ The problem is even worse then we thought.” I said to Clarisse, and she nodded.

“ Chiron already knows it is.” Said Clarisse, and she shivered. “ Do you feel like something’s watching us?”

“ Yeah, kind of.” I said, looking around.  _  
_

“ Maybe something is.” Said a nymph, “ but I don’t feel anything.”

“ That is weird.” I said, and Clarisse and I walked on.

“ Gah!” She whipped around sword drawn and saw nothing. She turned around and sighed. “ Maybe this is pointless.”

“ Maybe.” I said, “ but it at least we’re trying.”

She chuckled slightly. “ Your right on that one, because if we find it, I want to kill it.”


	4. Nevermore

    Clarisse and I gave up after dinner, and I went back to my cabin. Ciel was already there, lying down. I climbed up into my own bunk, and laid there. “ There is a hellhound in your arena.” Ciel said, he sounded tired. I also noticed most of his bandages were gone, and so I reasoned it was demonic healing powers. " Why is there a hellhound in your arena?" 

“ I know about the hellhound, she likes me. Her name is Mrs. O‘Leary, and she's sort of a camp pet other than the pegasi.” I said, closing my eyes for a few seconds.

“ I knew a hellhound. I own it, and it torched London so my servants had to kill it.”

“ You mean you have more servants than just Sebastian?”

“ Yes, Sebastian made them demons a year or two after me. Some of my connections from my human years are still on this earth in the world of the living.”

“ Okay then.” I opened my eyes and looked at the ceiling. “ How old are you, Ciel?”

“ 137.” Said Ciel, “ going on 138 this December.”

“ You're pretty old then.”

“ I suppose, but chronologically you look a year older than me.”

“ You know, the more and more I think about that the more weird it is.” I said, sliding over slightly so I was a little off of my bunk. I looked at him from the side of my bunk.

“ When’s your birthday, Nico?”

“ Next June.”

“ Alright, I won’t forget.” Said Ciel closing his eyes and turning to the side, “ I don’t forget things.”

“ You don’t seem like the type.” I said, smiling slightly. “ Do you have any siblings?”

“ No.” Said Ciel, “ I don’t. And before you ask, my parents are dead.”

“ Oh.” I said, “ how’d they die?”

“ The Queen sent her servant and killed them, then burnt my first manor to the ground. Sebastian built it anew the night I escaped from-” He stopped abruptly and looked up at me.

“ Escaped from what?”

“ I, I don’t want to talk about it.” He turned on his side again and didn't meet my sympathetic glance. 

“ It’s okay, I understand.” I stopped, “ I was just thinking about my sister, so, I was wondering about your family.”

“ And my Aunt was killed-”

“ You can stop if you want.”

“ I saw her die-”

“ Really.”

“ My family grew old before me, including my cousin and fiancée-”

“ Wait, your cousin was engaged to you?”

“ That’s how it worked back then. We had no say, we just knew we were going to get married.”

“ Did she marry you?”

“ No. When I turned into a demon, I had so many connections, I could not carry my life as a demon out properly. I left for a while, and I couldn’t marry her. She did get married to another, however.” Said Ciel, “ also, she did not wish to be turned into a demon. How improper would it be, for me to be like this forever and to have her be a jaded old woman?”

“ I guess.” I said, “ and then she would die, which would give you pain, if you even feel pain that is.”

“ I happen to feel pain, Nico.” Said Ciel, which made me feel bad for saying it that way.

“ I’m sorry, about your fiancée and your family.” I said, " those words seem very hollow, I know, but I don't know what else to say, Ciel. I'm not good at this kind of stuff." 

“ It’s alright.” He said, “ you couldn’t have known.” I slid back onto my bunk, and looked at the ceiling again. I wondered what Ciel hadn’t spoken about and what had happened before Sebastian made a contract with him. I knew it had to be bad because if he’d called on Sebastian, a demon, he’d have to have been at the rock bottom. Then again, I thought I had reached rock bottom when I had began to summon ghosts, ghosts to help me, ghosts to find my sister, my sister herself. Perhaps we’d both reached rock bottom and climbed our way back up using different methods. For me ghosts, for Ciel a demon to whom he’d sold his soul…would I have sold my soul too if the demon offered to bring back Bianca? All those thoughts crossed my mind and branched off.

     I didn’t know when I’d fallen asleep, but when I woke up it was morning. Slight sunlight came through the cabin’s darkened and tinted windows, and I waited a while until I was feeling more awake. Once I was, I climbed down from the bunk, looking at Ciel for a moment. His eyes abruptly opened, which made me jump back slightly sense not only were they demonic like every morning but he’d also looked like he was going to sleep for another thirty or so minutes. He sat up and stretched. “ Your up early.” Ciel said, “ this is the time I normally get up anyways.”

“ There’s nothing to do.” I said, looking at a clock on the wall. “ It’s 2 hours before the dining hall opens.”

“ You could think.” Said Ciel, “ I tend to mull over things in the morning, or visit Sebastian.”

“ You know where he is?”

“ He’s my butler, and no, I happen not too.” Ciel took off his eye patch, revealing the mark on his eye.

“ What does that mean?” I asked, “ you know, the mark on that eye. I told Percy your eye was gouged out by a monster with spikes by the way.”

“ The mark on my eye symbolizes my contract with Sebastian. When this mark is shown and I call for him, he comes and follows my orders, no matter where he is.” Said Ciel, and I nodded. “ Now tell me, what other lies have you made for me?”

“ You fought off a monster with a fencing sword when I met you.” I said, “ and that’s it.”

“ You have to tell me these things. If we are to make lies sound believable, we have to know them in order to work with them properly.” Ciel said, and I nodded.

“ That sounds reasonable.” I said, “ and you’ll have to tell me your lies.”

“ Alright.” Said Ciel with a nod, “ I was born in Manchester, England, my Mother owned a shoe-store there and thought America would be safer for me so she sent me. The nanny whom she sent me with was killed by a monster, so I fended for myself somehow on the streets. My Mother had given the Nanny an ATM card, so I fared well by myself. My Mother died in a boating incident shortly after I left England, and no member of my family wanted me back home so they abandoned me here.”

“ Wow, pretty dark. And, let me guess, not a word of it is true.”

“ Exactly.”

“ What’s the name of the shoe store?”

“ Pennington’s.”

“ Okay.”

“ I’m surprised at you, Nico. You seemed to have been so tense and angry, and now you're loosening up.”

“ Because I was thinking that I was a traitor, Ciel. A traitor for bringing two demons into the camp.” I said, “ but I realized that even if I am a traitor for doing that, that Sebastian is at work trying to defeat the evil in the woods, and you guys are protecting me. So, because I started thinking that, I felt better.”

“ I suppose that’s a good path of thinking for you in this case.” Said Ciel, “ also, now that we’re together…it would be wrong for you to have any doubts about me.”

“ I don’t have any doubts now.” I said, “ and I don’t think I’m going to have doubt for a long time.”

Ciel nodded. “ Your sister had a good looking soul.”

“ I could have expected.” I said, “ she was a good person.”

“ She left you in pain.” Said Ciel, “ pain that ripped you to shreds, and you mended yourself back together. Once something is broken it is never put back the same way.”

“ Yes, I know.” I said, “ I just, I wish she hadn’t left, you know?” I looked down. “ Sometimes, I think she left because she never wanted to see me again. She said she joined the hunters because she was tired of being my older sister, maybe she was tired of me trying to summon her too.”

“ It’s a possibility.” Said Ciel, “ I’m not going to say that isn’t true, because honestly I don’t know.”

“ We will never know.” I said, “ perhaps that’s for the best.”

“ Not knowing is never for the best. It is better to know and be in pain then to be blissfully unaware.” Said Ciel, “ people might say otherwise, however in the long-run, it is better to know because then you will not fall blindly into danger, and those whom lied are those whom you know to exact revenge upon.”

“ Revenge is one of my fatal flaws.”

“ It won’t be fatal if I’m by your side guiding you through it.”

“ So you say.”

“ So I know.” Ciel said, “ I’ve exacted my revenge, and filled it out to full completion. Perhaps it’s time, Nico, that you got your revenge. But what exactly is your revenge?”

“ I suppose you are.”

“ How so?”

“ I defy everything by being with you because you are a demon. Demigods have lived and died fighting monsters and demons for millenia, and I’m dating a demon. That is defiance, isn’t it?”

“ Yes, I do suppose that it is.”

“ And no one will ever know.”

“ No, indeed they won’t, so your revenge is silent. However, when it comes out and if it does, it will bring up the full blasphemy and defiance that it would have if brought sooner.” Ciel said with a slight smile. “ You’re a clever one as well.”

“ Indeed.” I said, smiling also, “ a silent revenge on everyone. Bianca said my revenge would be my downfall. However, I believe it is the exact opposite.”

“ And you’d be right to think so. What could she have ever known about your pain besides the fact that was the pain she’d put you through.” Said Ciel, “ Sebastian.” I looked around the cabin, to see it was still clean. I looked back at Ciel to see Sebastian was at his side. He went from there, fixing the beds and such.

“ At this rate, we’ll never be the lowest on the cabin inspection list.”

“ I refuse to take a cold shower.” Said Ciel, “ or clean dishes. No, I refuse for us most importantly to be the lowest on the inspection list. But, with Sebastian, we couldn’t possibly be.”

“ Indeed, my Lord.” Said Sebastian, “ I believe that Miss Gardener is blind if she does not give you a high grading on the inspection list.”

“ Hey, Ciel! I just got an idea. No one questions Katie about the stuff she gives you for a high grading on the inspection list, so we can say that’s our reward when we have chocolate cake for breakfast!” I said, and Sebastian frowned.

“ So that’s what you two were up to last morning.” Said Sebastian, “ Young Master, how many times have I told you chocolate cake is not a good breakfast?”

“ Many, but I will eat it anyways.” Said Ciel, “ Sebastian, I am almost 140 years old, I don’t think eating cake once and a while for breakfast will be too horrible for my system.”

“ And, it wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t get chocolate cake too.”

“ But, Master Nico, demons aren’t fair.”

“ Yes, but in this case, I am more obligated to give him some of what he wants.” Ciel said, and grabbed my hand gently. Sebastian looked at our hands, and smiled softly.

“ Oh? Interesting.” Said Sebastian, “ I had a feeling this was going to happen.” I gripped Ciel’s hand back. His hand was soft, but it was also very cold. The back of his ring pressed up against my hand, smoother and colder than Ciel’s hand. We stood like that for a while, watching Sebastian clean. I don’t know for how long we did. Finally, Sebastian took his old, weathered silver pocket watch and opened it. “ You two must go to breakfast now.” Said Sebastian, and Ciel nodded. We let go and went to the dining hall.

        A few campers were lazily strewn around, but all looked like they were getting over shock. Someone tapped on my shoulder, and I turned around to see Percy. “ Where were you guys last night?”

“ We fell asleep.” I said, “ that’s why we didn’t come to the campfire.”

“ Oh.” Said Percy with a yawn, “ we got to stay up later last night.”

“ Why?”

“ I’ll tell you later, okay?”

“ Okay.” I said, and looked back. Ciel was already sitting at the table with his oatmeal and tea, eyeing me. I quickly got my food and sat next to him.

“ What was that about?” He asked, sipping his tea.

“ He’ll tell me later, apparently they got to stay up later last night.” I said, “ I’ll tell you when I know.”

Ciel leaned over and whispered into my ear. “ I wonder if they saw the demon Sebastian was looking for.”

    I met Percy by the woods. “ You and I are the only ones assigned to the woods this week.” Said Percy, and we walked in. I looked around at all the crows. “ So, why were you guys all up last night?” I said, and Percy looked around.

“ A she-demon attacked.” Said Percy, “ and you guys slept right through it.”

“ Ah, so we’re looking for a she-demon.” I said, acting as though I didn’t already know.

“ Yeah.” Percy looked around. “ Having all these crows around isn’t helping either.”

“ I know, I always get freaked out, especially since Annabeth attacked.” I said, “ maybe one of the campers summoned her.”

“ Summoned?”

“ Yeah.”

“ Why? The war against the titans and stuff is over.”

“ Well, maybe someone doesn’t want it to be over.”

“ How can they possibly be that stupid?” Said Percy, gaining a slightly hollowed look to his eyes. “ Especially after everything with Tartarus.”

“ I don’t know, Percy.” I said, “ maybe they thought the demon would help them.”

Percy scoffed. “ Why would a demon help them?” A crow swooped down on a branch, staring at us. Percy drew Riptide.

“ Sebastian.” I said, and I held out my arm. I had to be sure, because if it wasn’t, I would need Sebastian anyways. The crow swooped down and landed on my arm, staring at me. I petted it’s head softly, and it nudged my hand.

“ You befriended one of the crows?” Percy said, looking at it.

“ No,” I said, looking at it more closely. “ It’s a raven. And the bird that counteracted the other one that attacked us was a raven too.” I’d been thinking about it. The raven, whom I now knew for certain was Sebastian, seemed to nod.

“ Did that bird just nod?”

“ No, Percy, don’t be ridiculous.” I said, “ it’s a raven, not a parrot.”

“ How’d you-”

“ Skills.”

“ Okay then.” The raven flew onto my shoulder, and Percy and I continued walking. “ Sebastian is a cool name for a raven, though it reminds me of the crab from the Little Mermaid.” Sebastian cawed objectively, not seeming to like that reference. 

“ Uh, thanks.” I said, looking at Sebastian on my shoulder. “ he’ll protect us from any demon animal. He’s a cool raven like that.”

“ That’s good to know.” Said Percy, “ can I pet Sebastian?”

“ Sure.” I said, and Percy gently stroked Sebastian’s head with his index finger, then stopped petting him.

“ I never got to pet a raven before.” Said Percy, “ they made me do a report on Edgar Alan’s poem ‘the Raven’ before when I was in the fourth grade as a punishment for scaring some of the jerks in my class on Halloween. It actually was pretty cool in a weird, sad kind of way.”

“ I wonder if I can teach Sebastian how to say ‘nevermore’ over and over. Then, one night, I’ll have him fly into your cabin and scare the crap out of you.” I said, looking at Sebastian and smiling.

“ Oh, I can see it now.” Said Percy, and I laughed with a nod.

“ ‘What the Hades?’ ‘Nevermore!’” Percy said with a laugh. “ ‘Should I go get Grover to get you out of here?’ ‘Nevermore!’”

“ ‘ANNABETH HOW DO YOU LURE CROWS OUT OF YOUR CABIN?!’ ‘Nevermore!’” I said, beginning to laugh myself. “ ‘Shut up Seaweed Brain I’m trying to sleep!’ ‘Nevermore!’”

“ ‘WHY NICO?!’ ‘Nevermore!’”

“ ‘Because I can!’ ‘Nevermore!’”

“ ‘Someone turn the alarm clock off!’ ‘Nevermore!’”

“ ‘Perrcccyyy!’ ‘Nevermore!’”

“ ‘It’s all Nico’s fault!’ ‘Nevermore!’”

“ And then either someone from Ares would shoot him or I’d throw a pillow at him.”

“ You know, when I think about that, it’s sounds like a bad idea.”

“ You think?” After a few awkward minutes of silence, we both laughed so hard that we had to stop in the middle of the trail. I heard a raven caw in the distance, and Sebastian cawed back and flew away.

        That night as I lay, half asleep, there was a knock on the door. “ Who is it?” I said, and the faint knocking ceased.

“ Nevermore.” Said Sebastian, and I went to the door and opened it.

“ So, that was you!” I said, and he nodded.

“ Who else would it be, Master Nico?” Said Sebastian coming in. I closed the door and locked it, leaning on the back of the door.

“ Someone could have seen you.” I said, and he shook his head.

“ They are all asleep. If I was uncertain, I would not have come.” He went over to Ciel and awoke him. Ciel sat up, and looked at the both of us. He was fully dressed in his black suit.

“ Wait, what-”

“ I told you this place was too dangerous, Master Nico.”

“ In short,” said Ciel, “ we are fleeing.”

“ What? No!” I said, “ I won’t leave!”

“ Nico you are being an insolent child! We have to leave or we will all be dead!” Ciel said with a slight hiss due to my loudness, “ there is no way of stopping this demon! She is in a contract with a camper here!”

“ What?”

“ You heard me! The demon is determined for that soul, and she will obliterate the entire Camp to get what she wants!” Ciel said, grabbing me roughly by the shoulders. His grip lightened gradually, and he looked into my eyes. “ I have been ordered to protect you.”

“ Do you always do what he tells you?”

“ No!”

“ Then why,” my vision went blurry all of a sudden. “ Ciel, what have you-”

“ I’m sorry, Nico, I truly am for once in my entire life as a demon.” Ciel said, and I collapsed onto him, my hearing fading. “ But I will never regret anything.”


	5. The House of Monsters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Instead of going to Camp Jupiter as promised, Ciel and Sebastian take Nico back to their manor. This manor is 10 times bigger than the last, but in addition they must share it with five other Earls of the Underworld, Erik, Luka, Alois, and Soma whom now are all assigned to protect Nico.

      I woke up on a nice, cozy bed. I knew I wasn’t in Camp Jupiter. Outside the window, I could see clouds, and I got up and out of bed. I looked down to see a courtyard with 4 gardeners. Three out of the four looked like identical triplets, and the other wasn’t. One of the triplets spotted me and said something to the other, and all four gardeners looked up. At closer surveillance I saw that they were all demons. “ Oh damn.” I whispered, and there was a knock on the door. I opened it to see a butler. The butler was a little taller than Sebastian, had black hair with a slight wave to it and a pair of glasses. I saw he was a demon also, and I sighed. “ Who are you?” He bowed slightly.

“ I am Claude Faustus, butler of Lord Trancy.”

“ But, he’s dead, you're dead too.” I said having to think a bit before realizing it.

“ My Master is a demon, as is his brother.”

“ Yes, I know about-wait, what?” Claude smiled slightly, and I followed him. “ Five Earls of the Underworld share this house. My Lord, Alois Trancy, his brother, Lord Macken, Lord Phantomhive and Lord Kadar.” Said Claude, “ as of now, they are all assigned to protect you.”

“ Okay.” I said, “ so, I’m in England?”

“ Yes.” Said Claude, “ we are currently in England.”

“ Where’s Ciel?”

“ They are all meeting in the parlor, awaiting you. I was sent to bring you.” Said Claude, and I begun to look around. The place was very fancy, and it was meticulously clean. I followed Claude down a swirling staircase that had many doors and hallways. Finally, we got to the bottom of the stairs which emptied into a lavish foyer, where there was three corridors and 2 staircases. We walked into the 2nd corridor, where there was a room without a door. In it on a wicker chair sat Ciel. I walked in, and looked around. In a recliner was a little boy about 6 or 7, spinning around in it. I saw he was a demon. When he saw I was looking at him, he stopped and smiled. He had ginger hair, and wore a neat button down shirt with a pair of suspenders. I looked over to an older boy about 17 or 18 whom wore a tan suit with a light purple shirt with a gold tie. He sprawled out on a loveseat, staring at me. I noticed he wasn’t a demon, and had brown almost gold eyes that were shown clearly because his long black hair was pulled back. I looked over to a rocking chair sat a blonde demon boy whom wore a light green button down sleeveless shirt, black shorts and a tall pair of boots.

“ Um, hi, I’m Nico.” I said, sitting down in a chair in front of me.

“ I’m Luka, Luka Macken!” Said the little demon boy in the spinning chair.

“ I’m Prince Soma Asman Kadar, but you can call me Soma.” Said the older boy sprawled on the loveseat.

“ And I’m Alois Trancy!” Said the blonde boy clapping his hands together.

“ So, you're all Earls of the Underworld?” I asked, and Luka nodded.

“ And we’re being forced to protect you!” Luka smiled, “ that’ll be fun!”

“ Indeed.” Said Alois, “ I get to see Claude destroy things!” He smiled evilly.

“ Okay then.” I said, looking around. “ So, you told me were going to Camp Jupiter-”

“ I did go there. It was under attack.” Said Ciel, “ so I and Sebastian left before we even reached the border.”

“ Hazel-” I said, weakly. “ Did you, is she-”

“ I don’t know.” Said Ciel, and tears suddenly stung my eyes. I ran out of the room, and just started running around the house, having no idea where I was going.

       I eventually just stopped, and went into a closet, locked the door, and sank to the floor, sitting down in the closet. I might have lost another sister or Ciel was lying, whatever the case, I was more than a country away from everyone I'd once known. I wouldn’t find out, and I probably would never see Hazel or Percy again. I looked up at the closet ceiling. I realized the entire closet was made of black slate, and the walls were written on in chalk. It was also a closet for cleaning supplies, and so I guess it was the servant’s messages to one another. I could see different handwritings on the slate, some rubbed away from time and some still new. I read one after another to calm myself down when someone tried to open the door. I opened it and the maid jumped back with a yelp. The movement was so sudden that her glasses jerked off of her face.

“ Oh, um, hullo there Master Nico!” She said, dropping to the floor looking for her glasses. I knelt down, picked up her glasses and handed them to her.

" Um, hey there, who are you?” I asked, and she nodded.

“ I’m Mey-Rin!” She said, “ Phantomhive servant!”

“ There’s a difference?”

“ Oh yes. Snake, Tanaka, Bard, Finny and I serve Lord Phantomhive. Claude, Hannah and the Triplets serve Lord Trancy. Agni serves Prince Soma.” Mey-Rin said, “ I was just going to get the wood polish from the closet!”

“ Okay.” I said, “ you can. I just, needed some time to think.”

“ Alone in a supplies closet?” Said Mey-Rin, and I nodded. “ Alright then, Master Nico.”

“ So, wait, why does everyone in this house have to serve me?” I asked, and she smiled.

“ You’re the son of Hades!” Mey-Rin said, getting out a small spray bottle of glass polish. “ We’re demons, and Hades is one of our kings. You're technically a prince.”

" That's glass polish." I said, and she looked at it. 

" Thank you!" She said and returned the glass polish for the bottle of wood polish. 

“ You're welcome.” I said, then I thought back to what Claude said. “ Who’s the fifth Earl?” Mey-Rin’s smile disappeared.

“ He’s a vampire, he doesn’t come up here often. He has a maid, though.” Said Mey-Rin, “ his name is Erik. He’s quite infamous, as is his maid Madame Giry. They come up here more than Young Master, though. He‘s coming tonight and is going to stay for a long while.”

“ How long is a ‘long while?’”

“ Weeks, sometimes years.” Said Mey-Rin, “ he’s kind of scary, but that’s what everyone here likes about him!”

“ How old is he?”

“ Old. He is almost 200!” Said Mey-Rin, “ and he looks the oldest out of the Earls; stuck at the age of 21.”

“ Okay.” I said, “ what’s so scary about him?”

“ You’ll see, Master!” She said, and went off to do the chore she was assigned.

      I went back downstairs to see that Mey-Rin was right. In my former seat sat an at least seven feet tall person. He wore a white face mask that only revealed two blue eyes that pierced your soul and a mouth with thin, purple lips with an angled chin. He had black hair that was slicked back, and long, skeletal hands and fingers. He wore a neat entirely black suit and black loafers. “ _Bon Jour,_ Nico.” Said Erik, and I could definitely tell he was from France due to the accent, yet he was still clear. His voice was angelic like a siren‘s, which sent chills down my back. It was a voice could deceive easily, and was meant for that purpose judging by it's owner. 

“ Um, hi there.” I said, sitting next to Ciel on the couch.

“ Nico, this is Erik. The fifth Earl of the Underworld living in this house, and the final one.” Said Ciel, and Erik nodded.

“ How interesting it will be to have a human around!” Said Luka, “ where were you?”

“ In a supplies closet.” I said shamelessly.

“ Why were you in the supplies closet?” Said Erik, tilting his head slightly.

“ To think.” I said, “ I just needed to think about this stuff. I’ve been trapped in hell.”

“ Hell?” Alois laughed. “ Dear Nico, this is far from hell!”

“ He is human, it could be different for him.” Erik said with a shrug. “ Whatever.”

“ Hell is bigger than this place.” Said Luka, “ even if this place is 10 times bigger than Alois’s mansion.”

“ It deceives, it looks smaller than it really is due to magic. It looks like it could only have 50 rooms, but it really has 550 not including closets.” Said Ciel, “ but you should be fine, Nico.”

“ I doubt that I’m going to be fine for a while.” I said, “ but I’ll get over it.”

“ We aren’t that bad.” Said Soma, “ out of all the rooms you go into a closet. You really are a curious one.”

“ I guess.” I said, “ many ghosts have said that.”

“ And they would be right.” Said Erik, “ when you think about it, everyone is curious. No one can fully know someone to the point of which they are them. However, imitation is a mysterious art in itself.”

“ Indeed.” Said Ciel, “ it is easier to imitate someone whom is nonexistent, or to pretend to be another version of yourself.” Erik nodded.

“ You’d know all about imitation Erik, or should I say, Angel of Music?” Luka said with a wink.

“ What?” I said, and Erik’s eyes opened wide.

“ We. Never. Speak. Of. It. EVER AGAIN.” Erik said, and Luka nodded with a small giggle.

“ Sorry.” Said Luka, “ I can’t help it.”

“ I’m so confused.”

“ All in good time.”

I sighed. “ That’s going to be the answer to many things, isn’t it?” I said, turning to Ciel.

“ For now.” Said Ciel, “ but I’m sure you’ll find a few things out in time.”

“ Okay.” I said, “ when’s dinner?”

“ Not for a while.” Said Alois, “ the butlers are making it.” A woman walked in. She wore a simple, old-fashioned black dress, and was in her early 30s or late 20s. Her dark brown hair was in a milkmaid braid, and she had warm blue eyes.

“ Ah, your Nico.” She said, “ I am Madame Giry, Erik’s maid.”

“ Nice to meet you.” I said with a nod.

“ Is there anything you would like while I’m at it?” She asked, and I shook my head. I wasn’t really hungry, I’d just said it as an icebreaker. “ Anyone else?”

“ A ginger ale please Madame!” Said Luka, and she nodded and left. There was a long silence.

“ Well, guess who I bumped into at the market today?” Said Alois, “ Grell Sutcliff!”

“ And?” Said Erik, even though I had no idea who that was.

“ She flirted with Claude for a bit and we had lunch. I like Grell, that amusing Reaper.” Alois smiled, “ but we didn’t have anymore time to shop because you know, souls to reap and all that nonsense.”

“ Wait, you know the Grim Reaper?” I asked, and Alois nodded.

“ Oh yeah! Grell’ll pop in a few times to see Sebby and Claude, maybe talk. And it’s _a_  Grim Reaper, Nico.” Said Alois, “ there are many! Most of them are so mean to us-slaying us without a word. Grell’s cool though. Sometimes we invite him over, don’t we Luka?” Luka nodded.

“ Okay.” I said, _demons, a vampire, a Grim Reaper…I am the only human…this is a worse situation than Camp Half-Blood, Ciel has flipped me into the fire. So why, why do I still have feelings for him?_ Ciel touched my hand and snapped me out of my thoughts.

“ You zone out sometimes.” Said Ciel, “ I realize that now, I thought it was just staring before.”

“ I’m sorry.” I said, moving closer to him.

“ I don’t mind.” Said Ciel, and I guessed that was his way of saying it was alright.

“ So, Camp Jupiter was being attacked?” I asked and he nodded.

“ Camp Half-Blood was on the verge of it. The demon was lurking in the woods by the amphitheater.” Said Ciel, “ but as long as you're safe, the others don’t matter to me.”

“ They do to me.” I said, feeling a little hurt. However I did understand that Ciel was a mostly emotionless demon, and he’d only really connected to me the entire time we’d been there.

“ They’re probably all dead.” Said Alois, “ the way your making all of this sound, Phantomhive.”

“ It might as well have been that way.” Said Ciel, “ I felt leaving souls as we’d approached Camp Jupiter. Some must have died.”

“ Let’s just hope it’s no one Nico knows, eh?” Said Erik, and I straightened up in the chair. For some reason, him saying that made me feel a little better about staying.

“ Yes, death is such a dark matter! It’s his first night here and your going to talk about his friends dying?!” Said Soma with a protesting tone, “ I thought this was supposed to be more jovial.”

“ I’m used to people not sugar-coating stuff. It’s really okay if you talk about it.” I said, looking down. My hands were clenched tightly, and I pried them apart. “ Those who don’t die will be taken prisoner, that’s if they don’t win.”

“ They won’t.” Said Ciel, shaking his head. “ When I saw the battlefield-Nico, they couldn’t have won.”

“ There’s still prisoners, right?” I said, my voice sounding weak and shaky.

“ Yes, prisoners.” Said Soma with an affirmative nod. “ And I’m sure with all those weapons they’ll escape! Or maybe those Hunter girls will help them or something.” When Soma mentioned the Hunters I felt like someone punched me in the stomach.

“ You made it worse!” Said Luka, pointing an accusing finger.

“ What?” Said Soma, “ what did I say?”

“ I-I-” I walked out, only to hear Luka’s voice call to my back,

“ Don’t lock yourself in another closet!”

“ I can if I want to!” I sneered back to him even though his tone had not been mocking me. I walked around aimlessly again, walking into another closet and locking the door. This closet was full of coats and long, sort of creepy cloaks. I went behind them, and suddenly my breath got shaky and tears filled my eyes. Hazel, Percy, everyone might have been dead and I would never even know it. Crows…those horrible black birds could have been ripping at their flesh, devouring it, getting blood on their sleek black plumes, swallowing flesh down their curved gullets, some taking more than they could handle, throwing their sharp beaks towards the sky, cawing with a profound heralding of the dead bodies laying on once green fields, their souls long gone. The scene of rotting bodies and the battlefield filled my head, and I almost gagged when in my horrible nightmare of a thought I saw Percy's beautiful green eyes pecked out, then burst into tears. There was a soft knock on the closet door.

      “ Nico?” The wispy, softened voice of a woman came through the door. I opened it, and there stood a woman in an entirely different maid’s outfit then Mey-Rin and Madame Giry's. The demoness came into the closet and locked the door. She had a box of tissues. “ Who are you?” I asked, taking a tissue and holding it to my face.

“ I’m Hannah Anafeloz, Lord Trancy and Lord Macken’s maid.” Said the demon woman, and I remembered who she was.

“ You turned Ciel into a demon and forced Sebastian to be in the contract forever.” I remembered, and she nodded.

“ So they did tell you that story. I have to say, for a demigod you have a good memory.” Said Hannah, yet I couldn’t stop crying for some reason. The thoughts of deaths filled my mind whenever I tried, now it wasn't just Percy. It was Hazel, Annabeth, everyone. I clenched my eyes closed, and when I opened them she was offering me a hug. I gladly took the hug. Hannah was soft, warm, and smelled like lavender, and her hug reminded me somewhat of what I‘d imagined a Mom‘s hug would have felt like. When I let her go, I felt better and actually a little sleepy. To my surprise, I closed my eyes in the intent of closing them only for a few seconds, and fell asleep.

     I awoke in the bed which I’d woken up in when I first got there. For a while, I wondered if it was all just a dream and I had shadow-traveled into someone's house. But then there was a knock on the door. “ Come in.” I said, and the door opened softly. Sebastian stood, with a slight smile on his face.

“ It’s dinnertime.” Said Sebastian, “ Master said I should escort you to the kitchen so you won’t get lost.”

“ Okay.” I said, and followed him. “ Do you have any family, Sebastian?”

“ At one point I did.” Said Sebastian, “ no longer, however.”

“ Oh. Demon hunters or something?”

“ It is none of your concern, Master Nico.”

“ Okay, I guess it isn’t.” I said, looking down. The carpets were nice at least, but then again they were Earls. “ I was just wondering, you know, because of Camp Jupiter and Camp Half-Blood.”

“ I could understand why you asked that question.” Said Sebastian, “ after everything, you must be thinking about them and their fate.”

“ I am.” I said, “ this is all feeling like a bad nightmare, a nightmare in which I just can’t wake myself up. I suppose a lot of people say that, but none of them know my situation.”

“ Indeed, Master Nico.” Said Sebastian, and we walked in silence. I listened for voices, and as we got closer to the dining room I heard them. Finally, Sebastian lead me through a doorway. The dining room wasn’t a room, it was almost a hall. The table was big enough for 50 or more people and had a lace table-cloth. The food was set out, and I sat next to Ciel, whom sat at the head of the table.

“ What’s with the giant table?” I asked Ciel, looking around. Soma sat half-way to the end, Erik sat two seats up from him, and Alois sat at the other head side of the table, with Luka on the other side of him to the left.

“ It’s for meals at balls and galas. Sometimes people prefer to sit at one table.” Said Ciel with a shrug. “ Balls and galas are rather common, they also serve as a place to resolve conflict between Earls. However, with you here we can’t host one for a while. For what you did to Tartarus, you’d cause an awful uproar, and no one would want that.”

“ Yes!” Said Alois, his voice sounded as though he was right next to us even though he was at the end of the table. “ Oh gods I can see it now! Claude and Sebastian would have to use up almost all the silverware!”

“ What? Silverware?” I said, looking at the butlers. Sebastian put my plate of food in front of me, and I carefully unwrapped my silverware and began to eat. The food was delicious, and I tried to savor it even thought I still wasn't hungry.

“ Claude and Sebastian fight with silverware.” Said Erik, “ I prefer the old Punjab lasso myself, but they fight pretty damn well with silverware. Had a group of men dead in seconds using only forks and spoons.”

“ Spoons?!” I said, “ how do you kill a person with a spoon?!”

“ Well, if thrown quickly at a target, spoons can be as effective as bullets, forks too. Especially if they were fine polished as they are.” I looked at my fork, the fork that could have killed someone. I wanted to stop eating with it, and my desire to go back to Camp Half-Blood grew stronger. I just stared at the fork for a while, looking at my distorted reflection in the shine.

“ It’s been cleaned.” Said Soma to me, “ forks are for eating you know!”

“ What? Oh, yeah, forks are for eating.” I said, and shook my head. I’d been zoning out a lot around these monsters, I needed to keep a level-head, especially if I wanted to escape anytime. Yet, at the same time I didn’t want to escape. My appetite slowly waned, and I ate as much as I could, which granted was very little due to my small appetite disappearing. I stopped eating, and Sebastian took my plate, as well as Ciel’s.

“ Shall I show you the mansion?” He asked, and I nodded. The two of us got up and out of the hall.

    My head spun with directions, yet I somehow made my bearings fairly quickly as Ciel showed me around. “ We get visitors every so often.” Said Ciel, “ so don’t be surprised if you meet someone walking the halls here. Mostly they come uninvited, but for the most part they don’t mean harm. And if they do, the servants will take care of them.”

“ With the forks and spoons?”

“ Occasionally spoons, though mostly it’s knives and forks. Really, considering it was your first dinner here, that was not a wise thing to tell you.” Said Ciel, “ but you’ll have to adapt to it in order to eat.”

“ I guess.” I said, “ or I could just starve myself so at least I can see Hazel and Percy again.”

“ You don’t even know if they’re dead.” Ciel objected, “ then, if they are, you can talk like that by all means. Though for now you do not know.”

“ Do you?” I asked sadly, and he shook his head.

“ We will never know, Nico, and I intend to keep it that way.” Said Ciel, “ if they truly love you, they will find you or make an attempt at doing so.”

“ What happens when they do and find out you’re a demon?” I said bitterly, “ they’ll kill you, they’ll kill you all.” As soon as the words left my mouth, I wished I could shove them back in. Yet something about them left a faint relief as well as the burning shame.

“ Oh? Sebastian will kill them before they even unsheathe their weapons.” Said Ciel, and the words cut me. I’d been asking for them, though. “ You may believe that Percy can beat him, but you haven’t seen Sebastian fight before.”

“ Percy beats every monster that attacks him in one way or another.”

“ Yes, but he’s never dealt with Sebastian. I wouldn’t want him to kill Percy.” Said Ciel, “ he might be useful.”

“ Useful?” I gulped, and my heart fell into my stomach and squirmed around. Hearing a demon call someone "useful" whoever they were was enough to do that.

“ Yes.” Said Ciel, “ demigods are useful allies if you can befriend them, or, in our case.”

“ Is that all I am, Ciel?” I said wryly, “ an ally?”

“ Your more than that to me, Nico.” Said Ciel, “ if you weren’t, I would have eaten your soul long ago.”

“ WHAT?!” I yelped and jumped back. Ciel looked slightly amused by this.

“ Yes, your soul would be the perfect meal.” Said Ciel, “ I would have ate it already, however, you yourself have held me back.”

“ So, if I leave you, I’ll be eaten?”

“ I suppose that’s one way to put it.” Ciel smiled evilly, what had I done? “ You look scared, Nico.”

“ I am.” I said, “ I’ve caught myself again in a monster’s trap.”

“ No, it’s different this time. A demon’s trap.”

“ I have a reason to be scared.”

“ No, you don’t.” Ciel grabbed my hand. “ I really do care about you, Nico.”

“ No, you don’t.” I said, “ you just want to eat me.”

“ Weren’t you listening, Nico? I’m not going to eat you because I care about you.” Said Ciel, his smile had faded, and now he’d turned serious once again.

“ I, I really do care about you too, Ciel.” I said, “ or else I would have fled. I still can flee, but I won’t because of you. I am in a demon’s trap yet I do not wish to escape, yet at the same time I wish too.”


	6. Two Sons of Hades

   That night I laid in the bed of my new room and tried to sleep. Alois had gone out, and I was expecting to hear his footsteps go to his room. I finally got up exploring the house in the dark and walking down the stairs into the hallway on the left. My heart was pounding, what if I opened what seemed to be the kitchen door and saw Alois. A kid was hiding under a table, and Alois was on the tile floor, trying to lure him out. The kid was crying, and he looked about my age. “ What did you do?!” I said to Alois, and the kid looked at me. He gasped, and reached out a hand.

“ It’s you-” the boy said with a shaky, British accented voice, “ it’s finally you!”

“ What?” I said, and Alois looked up at me.

“ Nico, this is your half-brother, Dante.” Said Alois, “ I just saved him.”

“ From what?” I asked, and Alois shook his head.

“ The same thing Claude saved me from.” Said Alois, and he helped Dante from under the table.

“ Thank you, Alois.” Said Dante, giving him a hug.

“ No problem, dear.” Said Alois, “ it was my pleasure to save you.” Dante whispered something quietly to Alois, whom smiled and whispered something back. Then he let go and went over to me.

“ So, hi brother?” He said, offering a hand. I shook it, and noticed he was wearing gloves with cut off fingers. His clothes looked dirty as though he’d been rolling around in dust, and when I shook his hand and let go, his hand was still shaking. His black beaten looking glasses were tearstained, and they outlined his eyes which were a lot like my own.

“ You okay?” I asked, and he shook his head.

“ I, can you tell?” He asked, and I shook my head.

“ Tell what?”

“ He won’t be able to tell.” Said Alois, “ no one will ever know what I do. You’ll settle, Dante, now go socialize with your brother.”

       I brought Dante into the parlor where we sat. “ So, you live in Britain, right?” I said and he nodded.

“ All my life, I haven’t been in any other country before. But you came from the Colonies, right?” Dante said and I nodded. “ Wish I was there. Way they said it I could’ve been in with other demigods at one of those camps instead of wandering around homeless.”

“ Your homeless?”

“ Was, as of tonight I am not.” Said Dante, “ I suppose sense I was on the streets I was easier to pick up.” He curled up in the chair. “ I don’t like shelters. My Mum told me never to go into one.”

“ What happened to her, Dante?” I asked, and he avoided my glance.

“ She died when I was 6.” Said Dante, “ this wasn’t the first time this has happened sense then.”

“ You mean, what Alois saved you from?”

“ Yes. Are you sure you can’t tell?” Dante said, and even though I felt as though I was getting sort of an idea, I shook my head.

“ I wouldn’t know until you told me.” I said, and Dante looked at his hands.

“ It’s better you don’t know.” Said Dante, “ only Alois will know.”

“ If that’s the way you want it.” I said, looking around. “ So, how did you know about, and what have you done with your powers so far?”

“ Well, I knew because my Mum told me.” Said Dante, “ and it was proved even farther with Alois and all. I’ve actually done a bit more than most I guess, or that‘s what Alois told me. I’ve summoned my Mom a couple of times, and then one day she didn’t come. Another ghost told me it was because she reincarnated because she was forced to by some ghost. I never conjured again after they said that; namely because they said he was the King of Ghosts. I figured that he probably got upset because I was summoning her so much.”

“ Was the ghost named Minos?” I asked, a sick taste coming up in my mouth.

“ H-How’d you know?” Dante said, then his eyes opened and he covered them with his hands like he was either trying to forget or was crying.

“ Dante, I replaced him.” I said touching his shoulder, “ he won’t hurt any ghosts anymore.”

“ That doesn’t bring her back; nothing ever truly will.” Said Dante, “ but, anyways. I’ve done a lot more than that. I’ve shadow-traveled around England, done some Hades related stuff. They, they caught me by surprise and..” He choked back tears, and I put a few pieces of the puzzle and my guesses together. Sympathy for him panged me when I realized exactly what Alois had saved him from.

“ Oh, oh Dante…” I said, “ I’m so sorry…”

“ You can tell!” He snapped, bursting into tears. Alois rushed into the room at an inhuman pace and hugged Dante. Alois‘s hug was almost like a sedative, he melted into Alois‘s embrace looking pacified. He didn‘t speak for a few minutes. “ Sorry, I just, I’m sorry I snapped at you, Nico. I didn’t mean to.”

“ No, man, in your situation it’s okay.” I said, and looked around. Outside was Ciel, Erik, Soma, and Luka. Dante eyed them nervously at first, but then calmed when he silently counted them. “ No, Dante, we are all the Earls here. The rest are servants and allies, we will not attack you.” Said Erik, and Dante calmed.

“ How did you know what I was thinking?” Dante said, hugging Alois back.

“ I read minds from time to time. I read Nico’s today also! He’s just as new as you are.” Said Erik, “ well, with an exception of over 5 hours and almost 16 minutes.”

“ So, the demon hearing and stuff.” Said Dante, “ you can hear everything from floors and floors up?”

“ The vents give off a lot of sound vibrations except in the bedrooms where they give off none.” Said Ciel, “ it doesn’t matter how loud the sound is really, it just needs the vibrations and waves to carry it on.”

“ It helps in investigating.” Said Alois, “ before they had walkie-talkies and all that shit. Made it more fun, being all sneaky and having Claude write it all down as evidence.”

“ It made it easier.” Said Ciel, “ more concrete than writing.”

“ Yes, sometimes they do not get along.” Said Soma, pointing at the both of them. “ Many things happened in the past that I was NOT aware about even though I WOULD have understood because I and my Butler were werewolves AND I was around almost the entire time all this went down between you two!” Soma crossed his arms in a slight pout, and Ciel sighed.

“ We didn’t know.” Said Ciel, “ and how did you not pick up that Sebastian was a demon in a contract with me?”

“ Well, that would have been rude!“ Said Soma, “ Good day Ciel, your butler’s a demon have you ever noticed? I think he wants to eat you also, do you think we should fix that?!” Soma tilted his head downwards in a menacing gesture, his eyes glaring almost unnervingly at Ciel. But nothing unnerved Ciel, ever. “ See what I mean? Also, I was still new to the whole werewolf thing! I told Agni to stay quiet on the matter and try to forget Sebastian was a demon.”

“ I am so confused.” Said Dante, and I nodded.

“ At least I’m not alone in the confusion.” I said, and he smiled at me.

“ Yes, I suppose.” Said Dante, and he looked around the room. “ I’m actually kind of tired.”

“ I’ll show you to your room!” Luka came in, and Alois let go of Dante. Luka took Dante’s hand and literally pulled him up from the couch. Surprised, Dante was pulled by Luka for a little while before he caught up to him in walking.

“ My sleep schedule isn’t messed up I guess, cause I’m tired too.” I said getting up from where I was sitting, and looked over to see everyone had already gone.

    I went up to bed when I felt someone following behind me. It was Ciel, and he stood alongside me once I noticed him.“ I figured it would be a liability to let you wander this house alone.” Ciel said, “ it’s a different world at night.” As we walked up the stairs, I could hear organ music playing softly somewhere off. “ Erik doesn’t sleep because he’s a vampire and they need very little sleep, which means he’ll get at random times whether that be in the night or day. He mostly plays music at night because mostly we sleep. If he's playing it, you can hear it.”

“ It’s pretty.” I said, “ I more of an electric guitar kind of person myself but that organ playing sounds beautiful.”

“ It becomes bewitching if you get close enough to it.” Said Ciel, “ I’d advise your caution, that another reason why I’m leading you back to your room. The sound of Erik’s playing can cause physical injury to a person or entrance them to merely stand there both intentionally and unintentionally. His music can do many things to the mind and body when he plays it.”

“ That’s not scary at all.” I said sarcastically, “ so he could kill a person with his music?”

“ Yes.” Said Ciel, “ he has before. When Alois and I moved into this mansion together, it was rather chaotic because we loathed each other for what had happened between us in the past. One day, Erik had had enough, and locked us in his closet. When he did that, he began to play a song he’d made. It triggered things in our minds; made us settle our differences and calmed many things. We can never bring ourselves to argue as heavily as we did then to this day. At least now we can stand each other for some periods of time, and this is all because of Erik. His playing can warp the mind.” I was a little creeped out by that. If Erik hated me, he could kill me without a trace. My mind went to Dante. Could he fix the affects of what had happened to him?

“ Okay.” Was all I said as we kept walking and the music became fainter and fainter until it was nearly gone and you could only hear it if you were listening for it. We walked in silence for the rest of the way, stealing a few glances at each other. “ Good night, Ciel.” I said, kissing his forehead because I wasn't thinking well due to being so tired. He blinked for a few moments, and gave me a quick kiss on the lips.

“ Good night Nico.” Ciel said, walking off to the left.

      I laid in my bed again, and when I closed my eyes I fell asleep. My sleep was surprisingly dreamless, and I was awoken the next morning by no other than Sebastian. “ Good morning Master Nico.” He said smiling as if he knew Ciel kissed me (which he more than likely did.)

“ Good morning.” I said, “ Satanic Niles.”

“ That’s a nickname for me now isn’t it? Satanic Niles.” Sebastian laughed, “ I never thought myself to be that sassy.”

“ You are sassy sometimes though, Sebastian.” I said, “ or I might just call you S.N.”

“ S.M. would be my real initials.” Said Sebastian, “ though I do like to be called my real name.”

“ Whatever you say S.N.” I smiled, “ whatever you say.” I got up from the bed, and he left. I got dressed and walked down to breakfast, somehow remembering where the dining hall was. I sat next to Dante, whom sat next to Alois. Ciel moved down and sat next to me, and I nodded as a greeting to the both of them.

       “ So, what shall we do today?” Said Erik, reading the paper.

“ Do stuff with Nico and Dante so they get over qualms about us!” Luka said enthusiastically.

“ So, my Dad never wanted me to go to Camp Half-Blood or Camp Jupiter once he sent you.” I said to Ciel, and he nodded.

“ He told us to humor you for a bit and stay there, but not for too long. He knew about the demon.” Said Ciel, “ of course we were waiting.”

“ How come I came second?” Said Dante dejectedly, “ you must be his favorite, then again, you always were.” There was a bit of refrained jealousy in his tone.

“ Dante-” I didn’t have an answer to give him.

“ At least he sent the right help to protect you once he began to care.” Said Alois, “ he knew I’d kill that son of a bitch.”

“ At least.” Sighed Dante, going back to eating.

“ I care about you, Dante.” Said Alois, “ you’re the only one who knows what it’s like to have been through my pain.” Dante looked tenderly at Alois, and nodded.

“ I’m your brother, of course I care about you.” I said to Dante, and he smiled at me.

“ It’s good to know some people have my back.” Said Dante, “ do I have anymore siblings I don’t know about?”

“ Hazel, but she’s in America.” I said, “ and more than likely she won’t come here.”

“ Perhaps they’ll send an Iris message out to find you.” Said Soma, “and then they’ll be really confused.”

“ I think it’ll go that way too.” Erik agreed, “ Percy is bound to search for you once he escapes. Or perhaps they won the battle, no one really knows.”

“ I don’t want to think about that today.” I said plainly, “ I just want to forget about it, about everyone and everything.”

“ It’s easy to escape reality.” Said Dante, “ especially when reality sucks.”

“ Hopefully we can make it better eh?” Alois smiled at Dante, and he continued to eat, giving a nod. He ate fast, and nodded to Sebastian and Claude whom stood at the corners of the room.

“ This is the best food I’ve ever tasted!” Said Dante, nearly coughing it up.

“ Eat slower! You’ll choke.” Said Soma, “ what were you eating before?”

“ Nothing much.” Said Dante, “ don’t ask rich boy.”

“ You’re a rich boy too now Dante!” Said Luka, “ we just need to buy you some new clothes!”

“ Yes! We can call our tailor and get some measurements!” Alois smiled, “ then you’ll have a lot of suits and stuff!”

“ Okay.” Said Dante, “ I’ve never actually worn a suit, so.”

“ I’m sure you’ll look very handsome in one.” Said Alois, “ and what about Nico? Shall we get measurements for him too? You know, Ciel, we can’t have them look like ruffians if they’re going to live here!”

“ I, I don’t look good in suits.” I said, “ I really don’t.”

“ Don’t worry, she can fix that. You've probably only had ill-fitted rentals." Said Alois with a smile, “ we should get that done today! What do you think, Phantomhive?”

“ If you really wish to go through with it today.” Sighed Ciel, “ Sebastian.”

“ Yes my Lord?”

“ Call Nina and see if she can fit the two in today.” Said Ciel, and Sebastian smiled.

“ She is always interested in our business, Young Master. I should have no problem making an appointment for today.” Sebastian said, and he went off.

“ Let me guess, this lady’s a demonic tailor.”

“ The best in the business, and she’s not a demon. We honestly don’t know what she is.” Said Luka with a shrug, “ but she makes nice clothes!”

“ Okay.” Said Dante with a shrug, “ good enough for me. It wouldn’t be the oddest thing I’ve tackled today so far.” I nodded in agreement. 

       The tailor came earlier than she'd scheduled. Sebastian greeted her at the door, and she smiled at the two of us. “ These are the boys, eh?” She said, surveying us up and down. “ They’re handsome like the Earls, rather delicate nimble body structure, which is also more fun when coming up with ideas. They looks like fighters, these ones. They‘ll need clothes that can handle a lot of messes.” Sebastian nodded in agreement and smiled. He began to walk towards the second hallway on the right, and Nina followed behind him as did we. We came into a parlor, and he let us in and locked the door behind us and Nina. She looked us up and down again. She took out a tape measure, and gestured Dante to come over first. The measuring tape and her fingers went right through his clothes mystically. He was shocked and went back a little. “ Don’t do that.” Said Nina, “ I’m sure you don’t want a tight suit or one baggy and loose on you!”

“ Okay, okay.” Dante was a little freaked out, closed his eyes tightly, and shook as though he was cold. He muttered, and Nina seemed a little worried.

“ Are you okay?” She said, “ you have a nice body for-”

“ GAH BLOODY HELL DON’T SAY THAT!” Dante shrieked, and Nina winced. He shrieked for 20 full minutes after. 

She seemed concentrated despite this, and after he was done screaming, she muttered, “ Clothes. Nice for clothes, so many opportunities and ideas!” She leaned back to get a little less harsher blow in case he started screaming again. “ And good lungs for opera.” She added, “ very good lungs.”

“ T-Thank you.” Said Dante and he closed his eyes again. He was looking like he was going to be sick, and after Nina was done with his measurements he ran out of the room screaming for Alois.

“ Your next!” Nina said with a smile, and I went to her.

“ He was hurt badly, so that’s why the measurements freaked him out.” I said, and Nina nodded.

“ I figured.” Said Nina smiling, “ I don’t like doing clothes for the seriously disturbed like that, I was never one for screams of terror.”

“ Yeah, I don’t think too many people are.” I said, and she began to measure me. I was okay with it, I mean, I was never measured for clothing before and I thought she deserved a break after having to measure Dante. I didn’t say a word, and when she was done she gave an affirmative and took her bag.

“ It was nice working with you. Usually I would have been more enthusiastic, but-” Nina shrugged.

“ I know, I, I don’t think he’s really like that, Nina.” I said more to herself then me. “ I’m going to have Erik do some work on him, maybe it’ll help.”

“ Erik’s magic is one of the most unknown to your universe and ours.” Said Nina, “ even if it has healed before you never know what it may do.”

“ Says the tailor who’s probably an old demoness.” I paused, “ you know, I think I might listen to you.”

“ Good boy.” She said, and she shadow-traveled out.

      I went out of the parlor and didn’t bother looking for Dante, figuring that he would find me on his own if he wanted. I was bored until I felt someone behind me, and turned to again see it was Ciel. “ Your following me around now.” I said, “ though I guess this is kind of your house.”

“ It is.” Said Ciel with a nod. “ It’s your home now as well.”

“ Yeah, I guess. If the Camps really are indisposed for a while, I won't have another place to go to other than the Underworld, which isn’t very safe for me either. Or you could be lying and I could go back to the Camps.”

“ I have no reason to lie to you.” Ciel said, “ demons are sometimes more truthful than you humans despite what you humans may think. Human, demigods, it makes no difference if you ask me. Demigods are just war torn at an earlier age then humans and they are put through more hell; you're illegitimate children of gods, you're humans with powers over elements. Fire, water, even death and all it’s darkness. There is no difference between your souls and humans souls.”

“ I realize that.” I said, “ and we’re more broken then humans.”

“ You break less then humans.” Said Ciel, “ people would have been stark raving mad if they were in the same situation as you, Nico. One might even call on a demon before it even got to the worst parts.” We stayed silent for at least a few minutes. “ Unless, of course, you are stark raving mad and I cannot see it. I don’t really think you are, though, and that is how I can respect you.”

“ I’m learning to respect you too, Ciel.” I said, “ things are becoming a whole lot clearer now.”

“ Or so you think. The murky water can look clear but you still cannot see through it.” Said Ciel, “ let it stay that way for now. It has its reason for being that way.”

“ Reason.” I snickered, “ if I’d listened to reason, Ciel, I wouldn’t even be here. I’d have ditched you a long way before.”


	7. Four Vampires

      I sat in Ciel’s office. It was a rather official looking office with books and two large, skinny book cases on the sides of the wall. A dimmed ceiling fan light hung above us, spinning ever so faintly. The shades were drawn also, casting darkness in the room with very meager natural light. I sat in the chair in front of his desk, and looked at what he was going. Before him was a packet of papers, and he read them, signing on the bottom of them in some places, not in all the ones that asked for his signature. “ Why aren’t you signing there?”

“ I don’t agree to the terms.” Said Ciel, “ that’s how the formatting on this particular document works. I own an entire franchise and everything linked to it, so I have the right to agree and disagree with things.”

“ Sounds boring.”

“ Not when it’s your company.” Said Ciel, “ I suppose I could let it fall to the ground, after all, the wealth your Father gives me is enough to get me by. However, running it gives me something to do, because most of the time there isn’t much to do.” He turned on his computer, which glowed faintly in the dim room.

“ You guys live right near London and there’s nothing to do?” I said, and Ciel shrugged, scrolling on some website and typing something very long.

“ Things that interest humans and sometimes demons are in London, however I favor staying at home.” Ciel said, “ Dante and Alois are going into the city if you wish to go, it doesn’t bother me terribly.”

“ But I don’t want to leave you alone.” I said, “ so I’m going to sit here and watch you do office work.”

“ You’ll leave," Said Ciel, “ when you get bored.” Ciel returned to his paper work, stealing one glance up at me before looking down at it again.

“ What if I don’t leave?” I said, “ what if I stay forever with you, by your side?”

“ Then you may stay.” Said Ciel, “ I know well that death will take you away.”

“ It doesn’t have too.” I said, “ you could eat my soul if you wanted, even though I would hate you.”

“ A good proposition.” Said Ciel, “ your soul looks delicious, Nico.” He looked at Sebastian. “ I know now, Sebastian.” Sebastian chuckled.

“ You remember the words, don’t you?” Sebastian’s eyes sparked a more vibrant red, almost glowing.

Ciel’s eyes took the same gleam. “ I couldn’t do that to him.”

“ Do what?” I said, and then I realized, yet I didn’t move. It was a test, it had to be a test. I stood my ground, even though my mind couldn’t find the words to say. Sebastian stayed silent, eyeing Ciel.

     I sat there is silence for a long time, and I just watched Ciel sign papers and when he was done, he organized them, then looked up at me. “ Why don’t we go into town, Nico?” Ciel said, “ I don’t normally, but sense you’ve never seen London before.”

“ Okay.” I said, getting up. S.N. followed behind us as we walked out and into the nearly silent hallways. Faint music played somewhere, barely audible. “ Does he play his music all day?”

“ No, I wonder what is wrong with him today.” Said Ciel, beginning to descend down the stairs. I followed him, listening to our footsteps. That was when I noticed Ciel’s boots had high-heels. I looked back to Sebastian, and gestured to the heels, and he nodded. “ I wear heels, Nico. Deal with it.”

“ No, it’s just, they’re really tall heels! Don’t they hurt your feet?” I said, “ aren’t they hard to run in?”

“ Occasionally and no, they are not hard to run in.” Said Ciel, and I walked next to him.

“ It’s not the fact that your wearing them, it’s just I don’t want you to be in pain when we’re in London.” I said, “ or if we meet anything malicious in London.”

“ I’m a demon, if there is anything monster related wanting to kill you they’ll assume that I am going to. Monsters generally don’t bother in a demon’s affairs and demons don’t bother generally in a monsters unless there is a vendetta, they hate each other, or they highly disagree.” Said Ciel, “ none should do that, because they know I’ll have Sebastian kill them.”

“ Oh.” I said, “ so that’s why he’s coming along.”

“ He always comes.” Said Ciel, “ and if need be, we can run while he’s fighting them off.”

“ I would think monsters wouldn’t attack me, though.” I said, “ true I closed Tartarus, but now I have you as a boyfriend, kick-ass servants that will not show mercy, and why the hell would you go to another continent where there’s only two half-bloods here as opposed to over 200 in America?”

“ See, that is why I brought you here. However, there are more demigods here then two. Do not ask questions.” Said Ciel with a nod. “ The attacks are the main reason why you are now here. I wonder if someone else was merely masquerading as a camper also.”

“ Maybe it was the Aphrodite girl. She could have been wanting to tell you she was a demon, or eat you.” I said, and Ciel shrugged.

“ I’m sure that someone made it out of those camps.” Said Ciel, “ the gods and goddesses are cruel. They conceive you just to see you get killed because of all who hate them; they only use you as pawns.”

“ I know that.” I said, “ but I actually kind of think my Dad cares about me sometimes. I mean, he sent you.”

“ I suppose.” Said Ciel, “ he doesn’t really use you or Dante for tasks, though he has his Earls do tasks.” 

" Maybe he does care and he’s just taking Bianca‘s death hard.” I said, “ but if that’s it, why didn’t he take Hazel and my Mom’s souls?”

“ I have no idea.” Said Ciel, “ once there was a fire set by a mad woman in London. The Reapers couldn’t collect the souls of those whom she burned because the flames burned even the person’s soul. Perhaps that is what happened to your Mother, Nico. She was murdered by Zeus, so that’s rather probable.”

“ I don’t want to talk about it.”

“ If you wish.” I looked around the stair way as we continued our descent down, finally making it to the corridor and heading out.

       The London streets were crowded, and I took in the sights. I let Ciel lead me through the streets sense he seemed to know them, but then again he’d lived in England for his whole life, so he sort of had to know them.

        After three hours of walking without stop, I sat on a bench near a store. Ciel sat next to me, and I leaned back on the bench, closing my eyes. I felt him grip my hand, and I opened my eyes, turned to him, then gave him a peck on the lips.

“ My, My, My!” I turned to the red-haired person. She wore all red and was carrying a chainsaw. I assumed humans couldn't see him because they would have been staring at the chainsaw. “ How sweet! The son of Hades and the Earl of the Underworld, I figured you couldn’t be boring forever, Phantomhive!”

Ciel sighed. “ Hello, Grell.”

“ You're Grell Sutcliff?” I said, noticing her eyes; they were odd green shades.

“ The one and only!” She said, winking at Sebastian, “ and you're that goth son of Hades who closed Tartarus! You were always meant to be a bovver boy if you ask me, then again Hades boys are usually. They make good records!” I had no idea what a “bovver boy” was supposed to be, but I assumed it was something negative and British. “ Nico, right?”

“ Yeah.” I said, “ so you’re the Grim Reaper?”

“ Yes!” Said Grell, “ I happen to be one.” She looked at her pocket watch. “ Oh! Have to go, souls to reap! I’ll be over for dinner though, the Trancy invited me.” She smiled, waved and left.

“ Let’s go home.” I said, and Ciel nodded.

      One of the Phantomhive servants opened the door for us. He was about as old as Percy or younger, with pale skin that had some patches of snake scales on his skin. His hair was white though not with age or bleach, and he wore a suit and bow tie. However, the oddest part about him had to be that slithering about him were snakes, poisonous snakes. It became aware to me that he wasn’t a demon, mainly because he had green eyes. He kind of reminded me of a dracaenae, yet I knew he wasn't one because he had legs and way less scales, also his eyes were almost a gold color but only in the pupils. “ Hello Master Nico, says Scott.” Said the boy, “ my name is Snake, says Alcott.”

“ How many lessons will it take for you to stop saying that your snakes say the things which you do?!” Said Sebastian, seeming slightly aggravated. “ Start over.”

“ Sorry sir. Hello Master Nico, my name is Snake and I am a Phantomhive servant.” Said the boy, bowing slightly and glancing up toward Sebastian. “ It slips, sir.”

“ Hey man, I don’t mind. Cool snakes by the way.” I said, and he smiled slightly.

“ Thank you Master Nico.” Said Snake, nodding. Ciel passed him and I followed Ciel.

         I stopped following him and went off on my own in the house. _Why did I kiss him, anyways?_ I stopped dead in my wandering pace. _Okay, so I kind of really, really-what the hell I love him. It’s only been 3 days. Sometimes three days can change lives, in three days you can be dead or alive. In three days you can be a normal kid at school and suddenly by the end your a demigod. In three days, you can be a wandering son of Hades with a new sister and then by the end you could be in Tartarus, nearly going insane, not getting out until weeks later. If all of those things can happen in three days, so can this._ “ Nico, what exactly are you doing?” I turned to see Erik, looking down at me with his intense eyes.

“ Walking and thinking.” I said, “ and what are you doing? Well, other than organ playing.”

“ The same as you.” Said Erik with a nod. “ You shouldn’t wander these hallways alone, you’ll never know what you may find.”

“ I’m sure I can handle it.” I said, and Erik shrugged.

“ Your still a young one.” Erik said with a nod, “ even if you helped close Tartarus, there is still much that might deceive you, especially here.” He straightened, looking ahead. “ In a way I believe it is more dangerous then the threat you left, merely because of the world you’ve just walked into. You have no idea, Nico, even though coming here was inevitable. You are much like Alice whom had fallen into Wonderland; like her you cannot fathom the depths of the position you've been placed in.”

“ So, your saying I should go back to the Camp?”

“ Don’t twist my words child!”

“ Then what are you trying to say?”

“ Not what you want to hear!” He calmed and sighed. “ Be careful is my main message-there’s a lot here that could kill you, and mostly they can speak in civilized manners that are unlike the monsters you’ve faced in the past.”

“ I could still tell, couldn’t I?”

“ You may or may not.” Said Erik, “ they’re sneaky and they more than likely hate you; Tartarus was a major event, yet I can understand why you did what you did. You’re an honorable boy, Nico, and more people should see that; not many people could have been through what you have done... for what you have done makes you...” He paused and looked around, then at me again. “ But the more and more you get involved, shall I dare say it, with Ciel, the more they will begin to respect you, and that is the only way they will. All Earls aren’t as sensible as Erik is, after all.”

“ Kissing him is ‘involved,’ right?“

“ Yes.”

“ Okay,” I said. I wasn’t willing to tell Erik about our brief kiss in London which I assumed Grell would say later, given his flamboyant manner. “ That won’t be that big of a problem. But how will they know?”

“ The lingering presence of demon on you.” Said Erik, “ so yes, I know about the little peck on the lips you gave Ciel in London, also  I read your thoughts.”

“ Oh yeah, I almost forgot you were the creepy vampire mind-reader/controller.” I said, looking around the hallway. The house was dark except where there was windows, with a rare exception of a light or candelabra. “ You’re the Phantom of the Opera, right?”

“ Yes.” Said Erik, “ I happen to be.”

“ I figured it out when I was asleep last night. Bianca read the book, I remember her doing a report on it.” I said, and he nodded knowingly.

“ It’s not that hard to figure out.” Said Erik, “ just don’t flaunt it, alright Nico? It annoys Erik to no end when people ceaselessly talk about his prior affiliations. It wasn't the best time.”

“ Alright.” I said, “ yeah, you took that pretty hard. Must be painful, how the only way a person knows about you is by one of your biggest falling outs.” Erik chuckled slightly.

“ In a human point of view, I suppose. But like everything else in this world, a monster or demon’s view of things is entirely different.” Said Erik, “ I’ve established myself in many other ways than that.”

“ I guess I will too.” I said, “ I won’t just be the son of Hades who closed Tartarus, I’ll become much more than that, won’t I?”

“ Yes.” Said Erik, “ I’d be lying if I said any other answer. The demon and monster life is truly a more suitable place for you, Nico, even though many sons of Hades chose denial of it. This is the path you were always meant to come down. Down this path you shall become immortal.” Erik looked down, his theatrical air disappearing. “ There’s another reason I am following you. It’s another order from your Father to be exact, the order that will set this all into place, lead you down this path. I‘ve prolonged it for several days now. For some reason, I cannot wrap my head around the fact I am condemning you to the world you hate so much. For that, I am truly sorry.” Everything was very, very silent for a moment. 

“ W-what-” I staggered back. “ No, no you can’t. I can’t become a monster.”

“ That is his orders.” Erik’s eyes became black with a red center. “ And I must regretfully follow them.”

“ NO!” I drew my sword and he sighed slightly as a rope tied around my neck and pulled me down. Everything faded into black as the stabbing pains hit my wrist.

       

      I didn’t want to open my eyes when I felt reality slowly fade back. “ Master Nico.” A voice coaxed, “ it is time to awaken.” I turned to the soft feminine voice. She was the demon Hannah, and she sat next on me.

“ You're here to comfort me.” I said, looking at the gauze on my wrist. Tears filled my eyes when I realized everything again. “ And they were right too.” I cried shaking with a feeling of the empty unknown, and she hugged me again, trying to comfort me. Suddenly, a thought filled my mind. “ Hannah,” I choked trying to compose myself. “ What happened to Dante?”

“ Erik followed his orders to completion.” Said Hannah, “ Dante came to accept this fate more docilely then you.”

“ Not Dante too.” I said, yet Hannah nodded.

“ He is awaiting you in the parlor.” Said Hannah, and I followed her down to the parlor. She held my arm, assisting me down the stairs even though I had no trouble.

“ Why are you holding my arm?” I asked as we began down the stairs.

“ Some new vampires are dizzy and light-headed until they get blood.” Said Hannah, “ so I am making sure that you don’t fall and hurt yourself. All of your powers will come after you have your first meal.”

“ Which is an a living, breathing human.” I said weakly with a short hint of frustration and anger to which she nodded. I should have known being with a demon was going to do this to me, especially when Ciel kept mentioning I’d be older then him. He was foreboding all of this; I should have known falling in love with a demon in such short time would do this. Though my feelings for him weakened greatly due to my anger, they still didn’t waste away completely, so I assumed they’d return or be quenched once I got used to this if I ever did.

“ Yes.” Hannah said, “ Master Ciel is planning on accompanying you on this meal to make sure it gets eaten.”

“ So I can’t starve myself and die?” I snickered, “ what a pity!”

“ Oh dear.” Said Hannah with a sigh.

“ Hannah! Don’t you see it? I am almost everything I stand against!” I said, “ and now I have to change? Start again and rethink everything with this twisted monster mind?! Hazel, Percy, Annabeth, everyone will hate me now!”

“ Perhaps it was always meant to be this way.” Said Hannah, “ it is for the best, Master Nico.” Finally, we got to the parlor, where Dante sat in a chair, smiling at me. I sat down, and Hannah walked out. He looked a lot different. He got a eurohawk style haircut, was wearing a suit, and a new pair of black framed glasses.

      “ How are you feeling?”

“ Never better!” Said Dante, “ Why, how do you feel?” He'd changed somehow, I could tell.

“ Horrible, never worse.” I said, “ your everything a demigod is told to destroy, Dante, don’t you care about that?”

“ Who gives a damn about the rest of them?! We are what we are, Nico.” Said Dante, “ and now this is what we are.” He had definitely changed. He didn't seem like the timid, shy, and scared Dante that I had met. Now he seemed psychotically happy.

“ I suppose your right.” I said, “ but I feel more depressed now than I was before.”

“ Well, that is where you and I differ, brother.” Dante laughed slightly. “ I and Alois already got my first prey. I’ve been awake for three days, and still don’t feel tired. It feels amazing once you're used to it.”

“ I don’t want too, Dante!” I said near tears again. " I don't want to kill humans!" 

“ Oh, Nico.” Said Dante, “ you’ll be okay.”

“ No. I refuse to be okay, I will never be okay ever again.”

Dante shook his head. “ Your going to be okay. Our brother is came this afternoon.”

“ Who’s that?” I said, “ oh damn not again…is he-”

“ Actually he was turned a while ago, he’s 25 forever but Dad said he would need protection.” Said Dante, “ he’s an odd boy, but I like odd. His name is L, and Hannah’s fetching him.”

“ He has a letter for a name?” I said, “ already sounds like it‘s only going to make me feel worse.”

     Hannah came back down the stairs with a boy whom was sort of hunched over. He had black hair and dark eyes, which inspected me as I sat on the couch. I felt as though I was more in the presence of a high-class detective than a brother because it was like he was looking for a fault. “ Hello, L.” I said, “ I’m Nico.”

“ Hello Nico.” He said with a nod, sitting next to me. He sat oddly, his legs pulled up against his torso. “ So, you’re a vampire now too, right?”

“ Yeah.” I said bitterly, “ I have no idea why Dad would order this.”

“ Well, even if you are a monster, the best prospect is you’ll be living forever." Dante looked like he was going to protest, however, when he glanced at me, he lost the motive. " He’s had many children die on him at a young age and he probably can’t stand it anymore. Having a child die takes out a lot on a parent’s behalf, even if that parent is Hades. Being a vampire, we can never die so he doesn’t have to deal with his children dying again. Dad saw this as the easiest way to keep you alive.” L looked me up and down again. “ You seem very depressed about it. I do have to say making you in particular into a vampire wasn’t a very good idea. After you being in Tartarus, closing it, and the fact almost going insane down there, I would have to say he could’ve made a better solution. However, this one is the easiest for him to carry out.” L shrugged, “ you have reasons to be depressed.”

" Gee, thanks," I groaned. 

“ He’ll get better, though.” Said Dante, almost reassuring himself more than L and I. “ He has too.”

“ I don’t know about that.”

“ Hush you, you’re the one who’s depressed, of course you don’t know when it’ll clear up.” Said Dante, getting up and out of the chair. He walked out calmly at first but then walking faster until he was almost running.

“ I wonder where he’s off too.” L said once he was gone, and I shrugged.

“ Alois probably.” I said, “ when he gets upset he goes to him.”

“ Good to know.” L said with a nod. “ I figured that was where he was going but I couldn’t be sure.”

“ To be honest, L, I’m not sure about Dante myself.”


	8. Doubt and Anger

     “ W-What have I done?” The person hit the ground and I looked at Ciel, who stared loftily looked at me.

“ Exactly what I wanted.” Said Ciel, and I felt the powers slowly coming to me. “ You should feel the darkness now.”

“ I do.” I admitted, and he nodded.

“ You’ll be able to protect yourself better than you were as a human now.” Said Ciel, looking out from the alley and into the deserted street. A cat walked past, apparently we’d woken it up. “ Sebastian would have liked to be here for that.” Ciel said as the cat disappeared into the tree. “ He loves cats.”

“ Does Sebastian even have a birthday?” I said, and Ciel shrugged.

“ I have absolutely no idea, and if he did he never flaunted it. I suppose one doesn’t know their birthday if they’ve been created even before time or if they came here before time was even invented. I wonder, sometimes, if Sebastian was ever a human.” Said Ciel, “ either way, I won’t need a meal.”

“ Why?” I said, and Ciel looked down at the body, which disintegrated into dust. _What a horrible way to die._ I thought, looking as the ash blow to and fro in the night’s wind.

“ When you bit the person I ate their soul.“ Said Ciel, “ as Alois did with the person Dante was eating. Was the blood satisfying, Nico?”

“ It was.” I said resentfully, “ horribly enough, it was. I’m a monster now, and it makes me hate myself ever more.”

“ I do not hate you, Nico, even if you hate yourself.” Said Ciel, “ now why don’t we head back to the mansion?”

    I sat in the parlor, sitting much like L would sit on a regular day to day basis. Dante came in and sat next to me. He looked less jovial, and smiled faintly at me. “ You can’t hate Erik.”

“ Why shouldn’t I?”

“ Nico, if an Earl doesn’t follow our Father’s orders he or she is put to death.” Dante said, “ so once we died, whether it be old age, disease, anything, everyone would be executed, EVERYONE including Ciel.” Dante looked away at the exit. “ You don’t care about Ciel, do you? You look so unphased, like you won’t care if Dad killed Ciel. You don‘t care about him, not like I care about Alois anyway.”

“ Just because I don’t run to him every time I have a problem doesn’t mean I don’t love him.” I said, “ of course I care about Ciel. It’s just, after all of this..”

“ Look, Nico, I know you nearly went insane in Tartarus but, we’re not going there.”

“ Oh yeah, says you! How do you know Erik isn’t lying?! He’s the Phantom of the Opera, I'd think that weirdos who run around in an opera house's basement are more likely to lie to you!”

“ I know he is, Nico, but there’s a reason Dad had these people protect us.”

“ Perhaps he hates us, Dante, have you ever thought about that?”

He lowered his glance. “ Every day of my life I’ve wondered that. You have no idea what hells I’ve been through, Nico. Being plucked off the street only to be put back on it somehow, used for some person‘s sick twisted purposes, eating garbage from the backs of restaurants, having to stand in a line at a soup kitchen, living nights with temperatures below freezing and above sweltering. Having to leave your dead mother on the ground, knowing no one would help you in the cruel world you'd have to face alone. Never knowing what would happen once that one person found out you were alone.” Dante snickered. “ You know your Dad’s a god yet he never sent signs, never acted like he cared, you even wondered if he knew you existed. You wonder if your Mother was just some crazy lunatic, and there was nothing to him at all, maybe he was just some normal man still out there living his life. But he did know I existed, Nico, he did and he did nothing to help me like he helped you. Don’t you see, Nico? You’re his favorite. L and I, we mean nothing, like dead rats on the side of a sewage pipe.” I heard a knock on the front door, and I heard Snake open it. I hadn’t noticed him standing there, and I think Dante forgot he was there too. More than likely he‘d been listening in on the conversation, making a mental note to tell S.N. in the supplies closet or something like that. Either way he walked farther away from the room and let someone in with a chipper voice, a girl by the sound of it.

“ Probably another demon.” I said, sighing, " they probably all are." 

     The girl walked down the foyer and looked into the parlor. She was short and indeed a demon; her smile faded when she saw us. “ Who are you guys?” She asked, then remembered. “ Oh right! The sons of Hades assigned to Erik and the Earls.”

“ Hullo Delilah Jane.” Said Dante, “ nice to meet you. And if your wondering how I know your name I have no bloody friggin I idea and I’m creeping myself out.” He got up and walked past her.

“ Okay then.” She said, “ have you any idea where Erik is?”

“ No, Delilah.” I said, “ and I don’t want to know. Why are you looking for him?”

“ Oh! Cause we have a job to do.”

“ What job?”

“ We need to kill some slayers.”

“ Slayers?”

“ Yeah, you know, the ones that kill vampires and demons and stuff? We have a big order from Lord Hades today.”

“ So, a little kid like you-”

“ Hey! I am not a kid I am MANLY AS ALL HELL.”

“ You and Erik kill slayers?”

“ Yes.” Said Delilah, “ only the real nasty ones who are no better than the monsters themselves though.”

“ How’d you get picked for this?”

“ Random selection.”

“ They have stuff like that?”

“ Well, yeah. Erik had a choice if he wanted to keep me as his partner in slaying so to say.” Said Delilah, “ and he did.”

“ Okay.” I said, “ follow the music.”

“ Pfft, I know that.”

“ Okay then, bye.” I said and she walked away. _Erik is a bad person, Dante, why don’t you see it anymore? Could you really loose your humanity that quickly, abandon me, become one of them-do I still love Ciel even? Was Dante right?_ I sighed, and another demon came in.

   “ Hullo Nico!” Luka cheerfully sat next to me. “ How was your meal?”

“ I can’t even describe it, Luka.”

“ Good or bad?”

“ Bad for my mind anyways, yet it tasted-”

“ Good! Don’t worry, Nico, when time passed by a little more you won’t worry about this kind of stuff anymore! When I first was a demon, I felt bad about taking my first meal which was a little girl I met in the park, an urchin wandering around after dark. We were playing hide and seek at the time, then she ran away but I caught her and ate her soul. But I got used to eating people, and so will you. It just takes a little while, time for your mind to bend about things.”

“ But what if my mind doesn’t bend, Luka?”

“ Then it’ll break, that’s the way of things.” Luka shrugged. “ Dante's mind broke, I know that much. Whether it bends or breaks, Nico, once that soul of yours is gone-”

“ You mean, I still have it?”

“ Yes! You will for two years, that‘s if Ciel doesn‘t eat it first! If I were him, I would. It still is the same as when you arrived here despite the fact that you fed. It's probably because of all of the remorse keeping it the same. Perhaps, Nico, you’d feel better when it’s gone.”

“ But I don’t want it to leave.”

“ But it will! You can‘t be a fitting monster and have it!”

“ But what if I don’t want to be a monster at all?!”

“ Well you’ll have to suck it up and accept it because you are one now, Nico, I hate to break it to you!” Said Luka, slightly irritated. “ And by the time the duration of two years is over that soul will be so rotted that it’ll disappear! He’ll eat it one day, you know, Nico. You won’t notice once it really gets starting to rot, in fact many vampires get their souls taken out before the first 4 hours. If he doesn‘t eat it, it‘ll be a waste of a perfect meal.”

“ I don’t want to be a soulless vampire, that's even worse than being a regular vampire!”

“ But you are!” Luka sighed, then looked up at me, his red-eyed glance piercing me. “ Alois has already eaten Dante’s soul, right before he bit a human.”

“ That son of a bitch.”

“ Don’t call my brother that or I’ll send you to Tartarus boy; besides, Dante asked him to do it.”

“ Why would I believe that he did?”

“ Ask him, how am I suppose to know!” Said Luka, storming off. “ He’s the reason we had this conversation in the first place!”

    I wandered around the house again, only to turn and see Ciel following me. “ You want to eat my soul, don’t you? That was your goal all along, wasn’t it?”

“ Nico, no.” Said Ciel, “ it was not. Stop accusing me of wanting to do things I never even planned. If I had foreseen this, do you honestly think that I wouldn't tell you?”

“ You said you wanted my soul! You told Sebastian that you did!”

“ No, I was telling him I understood the temptation of wanting to eat a soul! Nico, why would you think I would do that to you? I couldn’t even bring myself to make a contract with you to get your soul in an official, respected way, why would I take it without even having your consent?!”

“ BECAUSE YOU’RE A DEMON!”

“ And you’re a vampire, there’s not much difference.” Said Ciel with a sigh. Pain hit me when he said that, crippling pain that left me crumpled on the floor. He looked around for something, and it wasn't there. I couldn’t take it anymore, I‘d broke, just like Luka said I would. Tears filled my eyes and flooded out without staggering, making me choke a little. I writhed a bit subconsciously. I’d been broken.

“ EAT MY SOUL, DAMMIT! EAT IT! I WANT THIS TO GO AWAY, DO YOU HEAR ME?!” I yelled angrily. He did nothing but stand there for a few seconds, staring at me with his unwavering and cold glance. “ DO YOU HEAR ME?!” He knelt softly next to me, and softly took my shoulders, holding me up against him. His embrace gave me a little comfort. Then, with a little strength, I gripped him with one arm and took his eye patch off, looking into both of his eyes. I saw emotion in them, which calmed me slightly. _Maybe this won’t be so bad._

“ Close your eyes, Nico.” His glare was a little softer now. 

“ What?”

“ I-Please, just do it.”

“ I trust you.” I said, and I closed my eyes. I felt his lips touch mine, and a sharp pain stabbed my heart, then the world went black.

    I woke up again, feeling no hate for what I was or anything of the sort. The sun was shining and it was August 11th, 6 AM. It seemed accurate that a day would pass, considering I‘d had a breakdown of sorts. I got out of bed only to find Delilah, asleep on a chair, wearing a fedora. “ Nice hat.” I said and she jerked, awakening, so I repeated what I’d said.

“ Thank you, got it off a Slayer last night!” She said with a smile, “ your Ciel’s boyfriend, huh?”

“ Yeah.” I said, “ I happen to be.”

“ Okay.” Said Delilah, “ your Dad really wants you three to be safe, we took out a good 50 or so slayers yesterday. It wasn’t easy, and I’m very tired, so if you don’t mind.” She gestured for me to leave, which I did.

      My feelings were different then before. I still felt like me, but my opinions on things felt different for some reason. People could think what they thought of me, but it was highly unlikely they’d ever know. I doubted I would even go back to America because I knew I’d be shamed for being a vampire, then accepted that this was the path; Erik was right. This was the path I was always meant to go down. I surveyed everything with a newness, new senses and all. I was a full vampire officially, which was what came when the soul was gone. “ Dante?” I said, looking around. I sensed him, my navigation leading me through the house for the first time.

I found him, sitting in a room with Alois, Ciel, and a sleeping Erik. “ Ah, Nico! Join us!” Said Alois, patting the open space on the couch. I sat next to him and he leaned back. “ So, the slayers are dead! No worries now! I can shop for all the boots I want and all the stuff I want without fear!”

“ Oh yeah, almost forgot about the lady in the shoe-store who wanted to stab a stiletto heel through your heart.” Said Dante, “ yup, that’s how our day in London went.”

“ Now I can buy them!” Said Alois joyfully, Ciel shooting him a glance. “ What? They were nice! I have the right to like my footwear!”

“ Yes, but you were almost killed with said footwear.” I said, “ that is what makes it odd that you'd still want to buy them.”

“ I am odd!” Said Alois, cuddling up against Dante, and Dante smiled, cuddling him back.

“ Feel better?” Dante asked me and I nodded.

“ Hell yeah.” I said, and Dante’s eyes brightened.

“ Good!” He said, “ so…what shall we do next? England is safe from slayers and sense we’re monsters, chances are people won’t attack us.”

“ True.” I said, “ geez, what will the other Earls think now?”

“ That this is the best century we’ve had for sons of Hades that things are looking up.” Erik abruptly awoke. “ Ah, good morning Nico. When’s breakfast, Ciel?”

“ Shortly.” He got up, as did Alois. Erik followed behind us all as a door opened. Soma yawned and looked at us, smiling.

“ Ah! Up late again, ah well.” He said, closing the door again.

“ 6 AM is late for you people?” I said, and Alois nodded.

“ 5:30 is the time we all wake up.” Said Alois, “ Luka slept in too, I wonder what’s been going on lately.”

“ Probably nothing, 5:30 is too early.” I said, “ no wonder Ciel was always up before me at Camp.”

    When L, Luka, and Soma came down I was half done with my breakfast. That was when I noticed something odd with L. Sebastian gave him a piece of chocolate cake. Dante was confused too, “ why aren’t you eating a healthy breakfast?”

“ Oh, this is my healthy breakfast. My brain runs on sugar." Said L, “ sugar and blood are my staples.”

“ Okay.” I said, “ must be fun to eat sweets all the time.”

“ It is I guess.” Said L with a shrug. He looked around the hall and then at Soma, who was sitting next to him. “ Galas, parties, they’re held here.”

“ Yes.” Said Soma, “ speaking of which, when’s the next party?”

“ Oh! I have no idea.” Said Alois, “ I’ll call Aleister. Oh, I can’t wait to flaunt this in the other Earls faces!” Delilah came in, yawned, and sat next to me.

“ Nice fedora.” Said Soma with a nod.

“ Thank you, got it off a Slayer.” She said, “ makes me look tougher.”

“ _Fille, un sac de chatons a toujours l'air plus menaçant que vous.”_ Said Erik, laughing slightly. Madame Giry, whom happened to be there, laughed too.

“ _Oui!_ ” She agreed, and Delilah sighed.

“ If you have something to say could you please say it in a language I understand?” Delilah said, and Erik shook his head.

“ I have a reason for saying things in French.” Said Erik, “ considering you kicked a exorcist’s 750 pound metal soccer ball at me when I called you ‘cute.’”

“ Why’d they have a metal soccer ball?” I asked, “ that’s useless.”

“ Not if you chuck it at a person.” Said Delilah, “ or Erik.”

“ That must have been a sight.” Said Luka, “ poor Erik. What’s so wrong with being called cute?”

“ I have reasons.”

“ Are they valid?”

“ I believe that they are.” I zoned out for the rest of the discussion on cuteness, as did everyone else but Luka and Delilah. When L finished his breakfast, I followed him.

     We sat in his room, me on the bed and him in his chair, looking at screens. One was a normal desktop, and the rest were surveillance cameras.

“ Cool.” I said, “ so, you stalk us?”

“ Pretty much, I don’t have much to do with my time these days. Wammy’s think I’m dead so I don’t get any cases.” L explained, “ so I guess this is a good way to occupy my free time.”

“ I take it you saw that episode I had with Ciel and the soul-eating?”

“ Yes. I have to say, Ciel is more honest to you than most people.” Said L, “ he must care about you.”

“ I believe that he does, L.” I said really thinking about it in my new perspective, “ and I’m beginning to love him.”


	9. Demigod Monsters

      I sat with L for 20 minutes before he asked me to go get him some candy or something sweet. I used my vampire senses to lead me down into the kitchen. The kitchen was empty except for the lone Phantomhive cook, Bardroy. “ Hello there Master Nico, what do you need?” He asked, crushing what was left of his cigarette in the ash-tray. “ And don’t tell Mr. Sebastian you saw that, he doesn’t like it when I smoke in the kitchen.”

“ Well, as a demon, I don’t suppose that it can hurt you too much.” I said, “ and I’m looking for something sweet for L.”

“ Like what?”

“ I don’t know, he wasn’t really specific; though I can assume candy or cupcakes or something.” I shrugged, and he smiled.

“ Young Master has a large sweet tooth especially for chocolate-L’s in luck, because Mr. Sebastian just came back from the grocery store.” Bardroy said, opening a cabinet. It was full of 12 inch chocolate bars, white chocolate, dark chocolate, milk chocolate-you name it and it was in there. “ What kind does L want?”

“ I’d give him the milk chocolate.” I said, and Bardroy pulled out a 12 inch bar of it and handed it to me. “ If he found out, would he get upset?” I said, referring to Sebastian.

Bardroy shrugged and lit up another cigarette. “ No, chocolate bars go missing all the time-Lord Macken, Lord Trancy, Lord Kadar, even Lord Erik sometimes, they come in here. They know there’s chocolate, and Young Master likes the fine, expensive ones; he’s come to accept the fact his chocolate goes missing sometimes.”

“ Okay.” I said with a nod, “ thank you.”

“ No problem.” I said, and walked away, wondering if L would be willing to share.

       His eyes glittered when I walked in with the chocolate bar. I gave it to him, and he automatically tore it open and began to eat it. When he noticed my eyeing it, he broke off a chunk and gave it to me. I sat down on the bed, looking at the monitors. “ So what’s Wammy’s House?”

“ It’s an organization of orphanages. They have feelers in normal orphanages and child services all across the globe. When a child of great intellect comes into the midst and grabs the attention of the feelers, they bring them to Wammy’s which happens to be in England, then they use them to solve cases all across the world. I solved my first mass murder case when I was 7 with accurate results. My successor, Near, has no idea I’m living. I don’t even know if he is living either, and the same went for my other successor Mello.”

“ So, you’d call them N and M.” I said, “ considering the names and the letters. So what’s your real name?”

“ Lawliet, I suppose. I wouldn’t know honestly. People have called me L ever sense I could remember and then one day some people called me Lawliet and then it got really confusing, so I just go by L.” Said L, “ I don’t know whether my real name is L or Lawliet, and both were written in the Death Note.”

“ What’s the Death Note?”

“ First of all there are different types of Grim Reapers. One type would be Grell Sutcliff for example, another would be a Death God that looks more monster-like in person, and reaps the souls of people by writing their names in a notebook called the Death Note.” Said L, “ however, death can be cheated, no matter what Reaper takes you into death and no matter how absolute the code of laws is about it. Vampires can bite dead corpses, and they can come back to life as vampires, which is what happened to me.”

“ That’s creepy.” I said, looking around. “ So, what was death like?”

“ Interesting.” Said L, “ very interesting.”

“ Did you see anyone you knew?”

“ Well, someone, but I died for a very short time.”

“ Do you miss anyone from your past life?”

“ Yes, I happen to miss a lot of people.” L said, sadly, “ but unfortunately, the person who causes me the most pain was the person I died trying to stop.” L ate the candy bar half-heartedly. “ And of course I miss Mello, Near, the list goes on and on.”

“ I’m going to start to miss a lot of people too.” I said, “ I won’t be able to tell them that I’m a vampire, ever. They won’t accept it in one thousand years, not after Tartarus.”

“ Immortality, even if it’s unwanted, has a ton of disadvantages.” He took another bite of the chocolate bar, “ but how you deal with those disadvantages is what determines exactly what kind of immortal you’ll be.”

“ So staying in an entirely different country then them makes me look like a coward.”

“ Your not a coward if you ask me, Nico. I’ve met cowards…you’ve been through a lot, so it’s reasonable for you to back off.” Said L, “ besides, your right. They wouldn’t accept the fact you’re a vampire.”

“ I know.” I said, thinking about Percy. “ If I Iris Message them they’ll see me and then I’ll have to tell them, so I can never Iris Message them.” I thought about it. “ It’s almost like I’m dead.”

“ It is.” Said L, looking at the screens. “ Go to Ciel.”

“ Why?”

“ You two are cute together.”

“ Okay then.” I said, and went off.

       “ I’m doing paperwork again.” Said Ciel, straightening papers. I sat in the chair again, thinking of what I should say to him.

“ I know, but L told me to come in here sense we’re a cute couple.” I said, “ and in a way, I have to agree with him. I wanted to talk with you, Ciel.”

“ As did I.” Said Ciel, “ so he  _is_ good at making observations with people.”

“ How did my soul taste?” I said abruptly, and he stopped straightening the papers, then lowered them to the desk softly, his eyes following them.

“ As I had hoped it to taste.” Said Ciel, “ it was perfect, Nico.”

“ Thank you.” I said, “ I do feel a lot better now for some reason.”

“ I would have expected you too.” Said Ciel, “ you realize that now, of course, you can probably never go inside the Camp borders or near Tyson, Grover, anyone of that sort because they’ll sense you.”

“ Speaking of monster sensing, how did you manage to get past the demon-sensing trained crows that day?” I asked, and he put down the paper stack.

“ I spoke to them. You see, they’d never actually faced a demon before, such is an honor in their world because demons are by instinct to be respected at an utmost highly. Even with all their training they could not truly disobey the call of their birth. You hear of trained lions mauling masters because the call of their birth was for them was to be hunters. So the crows obeyed my orders, which was to scatter in the woods and lead you all falsely.” Said Ciel, “ it was difficult to communicate sense there was so many crows with so much confusion in them. You were wise not to break my concentration, because if you had, the crows might have misinterpreted my orders and attacked the other demigods, Chiron, and maybe even me.”

“ So, I really was on the right track with that.” I said more to myself than him, “ though, do you think Chiron noticed you?”

“ No, I know for a fact that he did not.” Said Ciel, “ they still think I am a son of Hades. They will never know I am a demon unless someone tells them; that much remains.”

“ They probably think we were killed before the siege though, especially if I don’t contact them.” I said thinking about the situation, “ perhaps it’s better if I at least call Percy or his Mom to tell him I’m okay and that we fled to London when we heard of the disaster.”

“ No, Nico. That will make you look like a coward…let it be for now.” Said Ciel, “ when he comes looking we’ll have thought up a better story for our sudden absence.”

“ If you say so, Ciel.” I said, “ perhaps some Earl or something is with them in the Camps and made up a reason we’re gone.”

“ Exactly.” Said Ciel, “ they could say that we were dead, killed along the way to hiding. And then, if you contact them-”

“ It will expose that Earl and they’ll know he’s a demon, then they’ll try to kill him.” I said, “ so the Earl will contact us when the Camps are set free, right?”

“ If there is one there, yes.” Said Ciel, “ The Camps were silent sense the attack. I haven’t heard any news of them to be honest with you, Nico. That means more than one thing.”

“ It does.” I said, “ look at me. I shouldn’t even be concerned with them. Once they find out I’m a vampire I’d be better off dead to them.”

“ Then they are foolish children.” Said Ciel, “ having a monster as powerful as a vampire and a demon on your side is something that should be valued and appraised.”

“ Because we fight better than them?”

“ Because we kill faster then them.”

“ But killing is not always the goal.”

“ No, it isn’t. When things are more time-consuming, demons can work at an inhumanly fast pace. We could have solved the Kronos problem in 6 days.”

“ Why didn’t you?”

“ Isn’t it obvious? You Father told us not too. He didn’t give a damn if Kronos won or not; in addition, too many of us were siding with him, the risk was very large, just as it was with Gaea.” Said Ciel, “ and we wouldn’t have closed Tartarus.”

“ You wouldn’t have been able to get out of Tartarus sense you’re a demon.” I said, and Ciel shook his head.

“ There is a different place for demons in Tartarus. You just haven’t seen it-Alois and Luka have, actually, if you want to ask them. A few monsters go there too, but it all depends on how involved you were with demons.” Said Ciel, “ you’d go to where they were, with everything that‘s happened. It’s a much better place in Tartarus really, a sort of Elysium.”

“ I wish we’d found it.” I said, and Ciel nodded.

“ I wish you had too.” Said Ciel quietly, looking off to one side. Sebastian leaned back slightly, blinking as though bewildered, though the rest of his expression showed amusement.

“ Young Master.” He said shocked slightly, “ I’ve never seen you be sympathetically benevolent!”

“ Well, it is 13 years into this century, many things can happen. Thirteen is a good number for demons and monsters.” Said Ciel, “ I will never change, but I can be different towards some people. A person like that has never crossed my path before until now.”

“ I see.” Said Sebastian now looking completely amused and grinning, “ how interesting that will be to see, Young Master.”

“ Indeed, you must be bored with me, Sebastian.” Ciel said, “ being the same day after day, giving you no benefit and certainly nothing interesting.” Sebastian remained silent, and I stared at him, then looked back at Ciel, whom was staring at me. When he knew I noticed him he looked down at his stack of papers again at an inhuman speed. I looked at Sebastian for an answer, also because I didn‘t want to embarrass him further for staring at him.

“ You just noticed he does that?” Said Sebastian, “ he does turn away much quicker than a human, but you’ll be able to catch up sense you’re a vampire now, Master Nico.” Sebastian’s smile widened. “ Your little antics of staring have been caught, Young Master.”

“ Shut up, Sebastian.” Ciel said, obviously embarrassed, and I smiled at him.

“ Hey, I stared at you multiple times. We’re boyfriend and boyfriend, we’re entitled to stare at each other whether or not we notice it.” I said, leaning on his desk slightly. “ It’s a part of growing love I guess. Don’t ask me, I didn’t make the rules.”

“ Love is a convoluted thing.” Said Ciel, “ it starts, stops, festers, swells, and overtakes you in different ways, as well as centers and begins because of different things. Love always seemed to mean money after I took over as Head of the Phantomhive family but now my view of that is changing.”

“ Ain’t that the truth.” I said laughing slightly. My change in relationship views was even more swapped every which way than Ciel’s. “ I’ve seen boyfriends forget entirely about their girlfriends in a twist of fate. Though that was due to magical circumstances, still.” I shrugged, “ my love has never been centered around money.”

“ That relationship with the forgetting each other…Jason and Reyna, correct? Him and Percy forgot their girlfriends. Yes, I’m sure the entire mythological world was told of the ‘scandal’ that Hera did. When the Queen of Heaven does something wrong the Underworld milks it for weeks and weeks. People there like hearing her failures for obvious reasons.”

“ It was an epic failure.” I said, and Ciel nodded.

“ Especially when Gaea was trying to ruin it.” Ciel said, “ I’m well-informed, all Earls have to be.”

“ I guess.” I said, my mind looking for another subject to speak about. I didn’t want to think about Percy, Hazel, any other demigod in the USA at that moment because it would just make me miss them. “ So, can you eat salt?”

“ Yes, of course.” Said Ciel, “ why wouldn’t I be able to eat salt?”

“ Because, you know, salt rings and stuff.” I said, and Ciel shrugged.

“ Well, if your asking about slayers and their methods of protection, Erik could tell you all about them.” Said Ciel, “ Delilah would know about the salt rings more than him, however, considering she's a demon.”

“ Okay.” I said, looking around. I looked out the window at the sunshine, wondering if I could go out into it without being burned. I went to the window and opened it.

“ What are you doing?” Ciel bolted to the window and swiped me away from it. He grabbed me so quickly that I fell over, but he held me up. “ I thought by taking your soul you’d be less depressed! You cannot do this, Nico di Angelo! I am not allowing you to give up on life! I could never give up, and now neither can you!” Ciel peered down at me half angrily, holding my wrists so tight I thought they’d snap.

“ C-Ciel.” I said, “ I was just going to see-”

“ If the sun burns you-that‘s still just as bad.” Said Ciel, letting me go. I fell due to the searing pain in my wrists, got up and straightened, then looked at him, noticing his glance was downcast as he went back to his seat. The anger slowly flushed away, leaving his face in it‘s regular pallid tone. “ Yes, of course the sun doesn‘t burn you. You weren’t going to jump out of it, and even if you did…” He shook his head, then looked up at me. He took the papers in his hands and straightened the stack again; due to the sudden movement they‘d fallen out of place.

“ I-I’ll leave now.” I said with a nod and ran out.

       I turned to Dante, whom smiled at me. “ What are you running from?” He asked, “ slayers, angry demigods, what?”

“ Oh, I’m-I’m…” I sighed, “ ah dang it, Dante, it’s a long story.”

“ Everything is with you, brother.” Said Dante, “ they’re stories that I’d like to hear.” I explained everything of what happened to Dante and he just nodded understandingly. “ Was I really that bad, Dante?”

“ Yeah.” Said Dante, “ do you remember it even?”

" Yeah, but, did I really seem-”

“ Oh yeah. I can’t blame Ciel in the slightest for thinking the way he did.”

“ Okay, Dante.” I said, and he gave me a quick hug. “ You know, Dante, you seem to be feeling a whole lot better after all of this.”

“ I am.” Said Dante, “ I don’t know. It’s so odd-I feel like I’m a new person, you know? Like, I’m not the human boy, that scrawny half dead thing on the streets, so broken, unfixable by all means. Now I’m a demigod, a vampire, rich, an entirely different life with the undertones from what I was as a human. You get what I’m saying?”

“ I guess so.” I said, “ I think I’ve stayed the same, or at gained back at least an equivalent to my former human self.”

“ I guess.” Said Dante, looking around the hallway. “ Is there any light in this place? I can see perfectly fine, though, just curious.”

“ Yeah, so can I.” I said, “ it looks different from when I was a human.”

“ Maybe it’s because this is the light at which our eyes see the best.” Said Dante, “ and it looks a little lighter than it did before.”

“ It does.” I agreed, “ if this is the perfect light for our eyes, then, the afternoon sun must be blinding.”

“ Maybe that’s why the curtains are mostly drawn.”

“ Or, our eyes adjust to sunlight. That’s a reasonable explanation too.”

“ Whatever-I don’t want to ask Erik and find out.”

“ I ask Erik these kinds of questions,” Said Dante, “ cause you won’t. Sometimes I ask L, but he’s a different breed of vampire, so.” Dante shrugged and looked at the window with the closed curtains, then looked back to me. “ Want to go outside and find out?”

“ Why not?” I said with a smile, and we walked side by side to the door.

    I opened the door, and the two of us went out into the daylight from the darkened foyer. At first my eyes recoiled with the sharp light change, burning. I rubbed them, as did Dante whom nearly knocked off his new glasses doing so. “ Ow, ow, ow..” Was all both of us said for a few seconds, that was until we opened our eyes again. The sun seemed brighter than normal, but other than that it was okay. “ So, sunlight doesn’t kill us.” Said Dante, smiling, waving over to Finnian, the Phantomhive gardener. Finny walked over with a wide smile and pruning sheers which he forgot to put down.

“ Hello Master Nico, Master Dante!” Finny said, “ how are you two?”

“ Well, alive.” I said, “ we were testing to see if sunlight burned us.” My eyes adjusted, though the sun seemed brighter then normal and my vision was more acute.

“ It won’t.” Said Finny, “ it only burns if your in it for long periods of time, just like humans. Vampires like darkness, though, their vision in the dark is better than this.”

“ Oh?” Said Dante, “ why do we keep the lights on at night then?”

Finny looked a little surprised. “ What are you talking about? There are no lights on at night.”

“ I could have sworn there was some sort of light, I saw so well, and in some rooms it was like there was a light on, it was bright like there.” I said, then realized, Finny wasn’t lying.

“ Same goes for a demon’s vision.” Said Finny, “ No lights are on at night.”

“ Cool!” Said Dante, “ we have night vision!”

“ Yeah,” I said, remember how Ciel had said that demons were quicker then demigods. I kept thinking about all of the stuff that I could do that I couldn’t have done as a normal demigod, and my mind slowly lulled itself farther and farther away from the hopelessness that I had once felt.


	10. Hiding From Percy

       Dante's eyes lingered on me as we sat on the patio in the sun. "Never in one thousand years would I believe I'd have brothers, especially ones as good as L and you are." Dante said, smiling slightly. "Or anything about the demons."

"You love Alois a lot, don't you Dante?" I said, and he nodded slowly. "You've really only knew him for what, a week, a few days?"

"You have no idea, Nico. How I met him, how he saved me from that bastard, how he's been to me in general." Dante shook his head. "You could never understand, ever."

I shrugged, "I don’t think I ever could. So, how exactly did L get here?"

"We got a notice via Internet, and he showed up here." Said Dante, "did he show you his computers?"

"Yeah, did he come with them?" I said, and Dante nodded.

"Set them up quickly too." Dante said, "but we talked the entire time he was. Turns out I'm the only British son of Hades."

"L is-"

"American originally, until he got imported to England." Dante looked around, "he's listening to every word of this. I wonder if Erik watches us with him. Have you ever read the Phantom of the Opera?"

"I figured he does," I shrugged, "I wouldn't know. Bianca wrote a book report on that book and told me about it while she was doing it. She got an A, and one day I forgot a book to read in class so I read her report sense the teacher had finished grading it. That teacher taught five grades in Literature and English, so,” I shrugged.

“ Wow, not much diversity in teachers. I thought Dad would send you into a better school than that.” Said Dante, “I never went to school. My Mom refused to use the system and taught me herself. When she died I had ghosts teach me things, and they said I was good at school things. I don’t know what grade they taught me up too but I understand a lot, that’s all that matters.”

“ What was it like, not going to school and stuff like that?”

“ I was working more on survival, Nico. Living on the streets, being a demigod with monsters coming after you. I never had any time to pan-handle, and the little money I did get from the little I did was taken when the monsters attacked. They took mortal money, thinking I couldn’t survive without it. I had only the clothes on my back and a Sharpie marker. That was it.” Said Dante, “ I didn’t think too much about education, but I did wish for it sometimes. I wished for a lot of things, and I dreamed of a life like this. Now, I have the life like that, the life I wanted. Perhaps not by the means I intended, but nothing ever truly goes how it was planned.”

“ What was you Mom’s name?”

“ Marina.”

“ My Mom’s name was Maria.”

“ I wonder what L’s Mum’s name is.”

“ Probably something that sounds something along the lines with an “Mari” at the beginning. Hazel’s Mom’s name was Marie.”

“ My Mum wasn’t too fond of Dad. She was angry he left us. Mum ran away when she was 16, never told me why or about her past. Dad got her off of the streets and they were in love, living in a large penthouse in Wales. She thought she had a happy ending, and then when she was having me he had to leave.” Said Dante sadly, “ without a job or anything, she fell back where she started. Then, you know, she died from the monster attack. Mum did love me though-she said I looked like my Dad but that I was better than him.”

“ So, how’d you get the glasses if you only owned a marker?”

“ My vision was very poor so I stole them.”

“ After your Mom died?”

“ Yes, she wouldn’t have let me steal for anything. I stole a lot actually, but it was to live.” Said Dante, “ couldn’t live if I couldn’t see. These fit better, though, and I can see a lot better in them too.”

I scoped out the garden again. “ Finny takes good care of this place.”

“ He does.” Said Dante, “ as do the triplets.”

“ Who?”

“ Thompson, Timber, Canterbury.”

“ Oh-the three identical ones.”

“ Alois usually calls them Thompson and Company but I prefer using their names. They don’t generally show emotion, so I have no idea which they prefer.”

“ Well, I would prefer my name if I was them.”

“ Yeah, but no one would do that to us, surely. We don’t look too identical at all really.” Said Dante, “ plus my name’s pretty different from yours.” Dante smiled as Timber, Thompson, and Canterbury entered the section of the garden we were in. He waved to them, and gestured one to come over. Thompson did, and I noticed that Dante was right about their mostly vacant stares. “ Do you three prefer to be called by your names or by what Alois calls you?”

Thompson shrugged, “ it does not matter to us.”

“ I figured.” Said Dante with a shrug, “ you may return back to work now, Thompson.” He nodded and went to his brothers as they muttered to each other, shooting glances at us.

“ They’re odd ones, huh?” I said, and Dante shrugged.

“ They’re Alois’s servants.” Said Dante, his eyes fixed on them. “ The three of us, you, L, and I…we’re a trio kind of like them but we're completely different.”

“ Yeah.” I said, looking at the house. I noticed that a curtain on one of the top floors opened, and closed as soon as whatever was looking out of it noticed I saw the curtain. “ Thompson.” Thompson came over, slightly annoyed that I hadn’t asked earlier. “ Is anyone visiting the house?”

“ No.” Said Thompson looking at the curtain that had closed. “ Master Erik is a curious creature.”

“ Very odd!” Agreed Timber, “ never going into the sun.”

“ I wonder what’s wrong with him.” Said Canterbury, “ I never asked, I don’t think any of us ever have, it would be terribly rude."

" Erik’s rather curious.” Said Dante, waving Thompson away. “ I wonder what he’s doing up there, day after day. I know he’s not always playing music.”

“ Thinking.” I said, “ he seems like he’d be sitting up there, thinking about things.”

“ He is.” Said Dante, “ this thing is getting really creepy. I had no idea how I was so certain of that.”

“ Maybe your getting some sort of psychic thing.” I said, and he looked a little panicked.

“ Can, can you hear that?” Dante said, and I became aware of the faint buzzing lingering in the air. The Triplets perked their heads from their work of pruning the hedges, looking towards the edge of the tree line, where there emerged an enormous “ WOOF.” The three’s eyes opened wide, and they muttered to each other as Mrs. O’Leary popped out from the tree line, an unconscious Percy on her back.

　

      “ What do you mean we’re just going to leave Percy in this room then leave the mansion?!” I said to Ciel as we walked out of the room. All of Percy’s wounds had been attended to by no other than Sebastian, who proved himself a good EMT when needed.

“ Nico, if he finds us here in England, he’ll figure out everything.” Said Ciel, dragging me by the hand. I let him drag me, looking at Sebastian who followed behind us.

“ But, Ciel, Percy doesn’t know anything about England!”

“ He can still find us!”

I sighed, and eventually we got to the door. He let go of me, and opened the door. I followed him into a black British car, sitting in the back of it with L. “ How long are we even going to be gone, Ciel?”

“ Until Percy Jackson leaves England.” Ciel looked to Sebastian, “ is Mrs. O’Leary tied up like I ordered?”

“ Yes.” Said Sebastian with a nod, “ tied to the fountain in the front yard, just as you ordered.”

“ You tied Mrs. O’Leary to the fountain?”

“ Yes, well, she had water, and I made sure that Bard left her the equivalent of 5 cows for whenever Percy awakens.”

“ He might look for me.”

“ He will look for you, and that is why I am hiding you,” said Ciel, “ and myself for that matter. For extra precautionary measures, we are bringing L and Dante, whom will both be hidden in different places with the rest of the Earls.”

“ I suppose I’m being dropped off then.” Said L, surveying the area out the window.

Ciel nodded, “ You will be; you’ll be in good hands, L.”

“ Alright.” He said, “ do they have computers?”

“ Yes, I believe he does.” L handed me a small device that looked like a flash-drive until I realized that it was blinking a small red light. “ Keep this on you at all times, Nico.”

“ Why?”

“ In case you go missing this might be the only device we have to find you.”

“ A tracking chip?” I said, and L nodded.

“ Be happy I didn’t inject it into your bloodstream while you were asleep.” Said L, “ of course, it would’ve been a heck of a lot smaller.”

“ Okay.” I said, putting it in my pocket, “ you gave one to Dante too?”

“ Yeah, of course I did.” Said L, “ I have the flash drive for me to be able to find the two of you.”

“ Thanks?” I said, not really sure of what to say. No one had ever given me a tracking chip, but in retrospective, it seemed like a good idea. L turned and looked out the window again.

“ You welcome. I wonder why no one thought of that before, though, no one has ever thanked me for tracking them before.”

“ People probably didn’t do that because he’d be too stubborn and offended to take it.” Said S.N., “ but that would be understandable. You’re an elusive boy, Master Nico, and you seem to like it that way. You don’t like to be tied down, either that, or being tied down is what you truly wish for though you could never really get that way because of different factors.”

“ Monsters won’t be attacking me.” I realized, “ because I am a monster.”

“ You are just realizing that now, Nico?” Ciel said, “ there are reasons why Hades ordered this.”

“ Obviously.” I said, “ you know, Ciel, maybe he didn’t want us to die. He made me immortal so that you wouldn’t have to die and neither would I. I wonder if he knew, that we’d, you know, be together.”

“ I highly doubt it.” Said Ciel, crushing me a little, “ have as much faith in your Father as you wish, but I will NEVER trust him.” Then I remembered that even Ciel had the capacity to be wrong.

“ I wonder what made you this way, some past trauma I’ve concluded though.” Said L, “ you hide a lot, Ciel.”

“ I intend to keep it that way, L.” Said Ciel, looking at a lever near Sebastian. It look like an emergency break, only it looked like it had the ability to be pulled up. Finally, we hit the thick of traffic. Sebastian smiled, looking down at the lever.

“ You are about to see where the expression ‘speed demons’ came from when on the road. We’ll be perfectly fine and invisible to the mortal eye, unless you are like Percy Jackson’s Mother.” Sebastian smiled, and with his white gloved hands yanked the lever up. The car rose into the air, though it didn’t feel weightless as though you were suspended in the air. It was like someone picked up the car and plopped it down on an invisible road, though when I looked out my window I saw the tops of cars. Sebastian’s smile widened as he slammed his foot on the pedal.

   It was far faster than Shadow-Traveling, and curved up and down abruptly like a roller coaster. I screamed, honestly. L, Ciel, and Sebastian didn’t do anything. But when the car plopped down on the ground abruptly, L’s face was a near shade of gray. He quickly go out of the car and began to throw up, and I myself had to swallow my vomit a little. “ This is where you get off, L.” Said Ciel out the window as the door on L’s side closed. He nodded and went to the door step. Then I noticed, the place he was going was a funeral parlor.

“ Ciel-”

“ Don’t worry, this is the home of a retired Grim Reaper. He is an Undertaker, an Earl of the Underworld, and is near the end of his parole. He is trustworthy this century and will enjoy L’s company.” Said Ciel, “ I’m still leery about him despite his so far clean record-it was suggested L go there by your Father, and finalized today.”

“ You contacted my Dad? When?”

“ While you were screaming your lungs out.”

“ Okay.” I said, my stomach still feeling sick. “ Please, can we not do that again? I feel sick after all, if we continue that way I might puke.”

“ Rubbish.” Said Sebastian, “ you’ll never get used to it if we do not continue.”

“ Ciel!” I moaned (kind of whining really,) “ Do we have to?”

“ Yes, I agree with Sebastian.” Said Ciel, “ if you do throw up, don’t do it out the window. Sebastian will clean it later.”

“ What? Why?”

“ Because that puke might land on a person, windshield, car roof-there is no bird big enough to explain that.” Ciel said, and I laughed nervously.

“ Yeah, right.” I said, and the ride began again.

    This one was quicker, lasting only a few seconds. We stopped at a hotel, and Snake opened the door for us. I smiled at the servant before puking on his shoes. He recoiled, and stepped away. Then he and Sebastian helped me out of the car, Ciel looking back a few times as he went forward a little ahead of us to check in. When he did, he nodded to Sebastian and Snake who were half carrying me. When we got into the elevator, I noticed Snake was carrying a satchel in which something was moving. “ What?” I said to him, a little weak.

“ My snakes.” Said Snake, “ all 60 of them.”

“ Okay.” I said, with a nod, looking over to Ciel. He was looking at me, and I looked back at him. Then the elevator opened, and Sebastian and Snake half carried me into the hotel room, which had to beds. I laid on the bed, staring at the ceiling. Someone laid next to me, and I turned to see Ciel. “ You okay, you know, with that traveling?”

“ Yes.” Said Ciel, “ I take it you call this bed.”

“ I do.” I said, “ considering I might puke on it.”

“ Sebastian will clean it.”

“ Or the staff of the hotel.”

“ They take too long.”

" Okay.” I said, looking back at the ceiling. “ Ciel, are you doing this only because you have to?”

“ No. I told you when we first met, I go on my own accord and use my power.”

“ Sorry, I’m sick and tired so I suppose I forget why you’re here sometimes.”

Ciel sighed, “ I have yet to figure out why I am still here.”

“ Because Hannah thought it would be a good idea.”

“ Yes, however, I could have been killed before then by many things including Sebastian.”

“ I guess.” I said, “ but really, Ciel, I’m kind of happy you’re here with me.” I got closer to him and gradually sat up, putting my head on his shoulder. Ciel put his arm around me, and we stayed like that. Ciel talked, and I listened to his calming British voice telling me things, some of which I could picture so vividly they were almost real for fleeting moments. Eventually I fell asleep, wondering if we’d still be like that when I woke up.

       To my surprise when I awoke, he was asleep to, and hadn’t moved an inch except for the fact that both of us were laying down. When I got up, his eyes opened abruptly, then he sat up and yawned. I yawned too, and noticed that I was feeling much better. I noticed I was hungry, too, and wondered if I should get Sebastian to cook me something (no doubt the servant’s rooms had kitchenettes) or order room service. “ So, Ciel, what do you want to do now?” I asked him, getting up off the bed. He laid back down, staring at me.

“ I’m still tired, honestly.” Said Ciel, and I pulled him off the bed. “ What do you think your doing?”

“ You slept long enough, you’ll ruin your sleep for tonight and I certainly don’t want to listen to you tossing and turning all night.” I said smiling if not a bit evilly. He stayed standing up and sighed, rubbing his eye then walking away from me. He sat in a chair and so did I.

“ Shall we order room service or Sebastian?”

“ Room service, because he’ll have to go out to the store, cook the meal, etc.” Ciel took a menu near the phone, and I glanced over to it. All of the meals were really fancy and over-priced as hotel meals were; the only items I found that I would like was the dessert. The dessert was also less expensive than a meal, obviously.

“ Why don’t we just order a piece of chocolate cake?” I said, “ seems good right about now.”

“ I agree.” Said Ciel, “ one or two pieces?”

“ One.” I said, “ it’ll probably be big so we can split it.” Ciel nodded, and called in the order.

     The hotel worker came up and handed Ciel the large piece of chocolate cake. “ Does your Father know you’ve ordered desert before dinner?” He smiled at us. 

“ Yes sir.” Said Ciel, and the hotel worked left, so I assumed it was an add-on to the room. Ciel closed the door and sat down again, placing the cake between us.


	11. The Trail of Percy Jackson

       There was a knock on the door as we finished off the cake. Ciel opened it and Alois walked right in. “ Hello Ciel!” Said Alois, sitting on my bed nonchalantly and laying down. “ Hello Nico! Dante finished puking and went to sleep then Luka feel asleep so I figured you two would give me some entertainment.” He looked over at the finished plate of chocolate cake. “ What were you two doing, eating it off each other? This mattress’s bedding is ruffled like you two slept on it.”

“ No!” Said Ciel, blushing. “ We were hungry and ordered cake after we woke up from our nap!”

“ Sure, Ciel, sure.” Alois winked at him, and sat up. “ So, how was the drive for Nico?”

“ I believe he threw up less than Dante from what you've told me.” Said Ciel, “ is he sick?”

“ No, I don’t believe he is.” Said Alois, “ and if he is, I’ll know because Luka cuddled next to him. I’m not the only one who likes Dante you know.” Alois smiled, “ Dante.” He looked over to me and squinted. “ Nothing, you two look nothing alike. The only thing I’d see in you two would be the black hair and black eyes, your eyes are different from his some how.” Alois looked back at the ceiling. “ I got news today, Ciel. An Earl infiltrated the camps.”

“ And?”

“ And they got captured!”

“ What a bloody idiot!”

“ I know that’s what I said only my description was more colorful! But Percy escaped after killing the Earl. He killed one of our own, Ciel. You know what that means.”

Ciel’s eyes opened wide and he braced. “ No-the other Earls, they haven’t-not that.”

“ He’s been considered a menace, Ciel, he’s crossed the line.” Said Alois, “ you know we can’t disregard our kind like this, Ciel. Choose wisely in your decision, don’t do it just because he’s here.“ Alois looked to see if I was listening, which I was. “ Should I even explain to him?”

“ No, things are better left unsaid.” Said Ciel, calming and looking downwards, “ and I thought he could be an ally.”

“ A lot of half-bloods are one sided, you should know that. I thought Nico was at first, but then he turned around.” Said Alois, “ not all are as diverse and accepting as ours. Plus, we made them monsters. And just think what Percy will do to Nico if he finds out.”

“ I know, Alois, it is why this measure was taken.” 

“ What if it’s not enough? The voting is tonight, Ciel. We have to leave immediately.” Alois got up off the bed.

“ Nico, I’ll be gone until late tonight, Tanaka and the other servants will tend to you.” Said Ciel, walking with Alois. Together, they walked out, locking the door behind them.

      I felt really stupid when it took me a minute to realize the vote meant that they’d be deciding or not whether to kill Percy. I didn’t know what to pray to, so I didn’t pray at all. “ Tanaka.” I said, quietly, and the elderly butler appeared behind me.

“ Hello Master Nico.” He bowed slightly, and I nodded.

“ Have a seat somewhere.” I said, and he did. “ Do you think Percy had reasons, you know, for killing the Earl?”

“ I wouldn't know, I wasn’t there.” Said Tanaka, “ but Percy is no longer your concern.”

“ But, if he’s justified-”

“ What if he isn’t?”

“ Then, then…they still shouldn’t kill him, Tanaka! I don’t want Percy to die, he’s my best friend, I even had a crush on him for a long time! He’s like an older brother who’s always looked out for me. I couldn’t let him die, especially when I know! Even as a monster I couldn’t live with myself!”

“ You have much to learn, Master Nico.” Said Tanaka, “ we’ve had a votes like this before, and a hero in question escaped death once or twice.”

“ How?”

“ He was elusive, eluding Earl after Earl after Earl-they gave up.”

“ Percy, he might do that.”

“ You think so _Monsieur?_ ” Said Madame Giry, walking in. “ Erik sent me.”

“ Which Earl did Percy even kill and why?!”

“ The 57th-there are 350 now.” Said Madame Giry, “ the number grows and decreases. 50% of the Earls are women. Three female earls might be joining our home soon, actually. In direct order, Erik is the 5th, which is a very high ranking position to be in. When some Earls get killed, a predecessor of their choice fills their place, and a new Earl is instated when a royal is accepted into the Underworld. For example, Delilah is Erik's predecessor and would take over the position if he died. Percy killed the Earl because he was feasting off of half-bloods, and saving one, he killed the Earl.”

“ I wonder what Ciel will do.” I said, getting off the topic. “ Will he fight for me, or for himself?”

***

       The ballots were handed in and counted one by one. I looked at those in the cages above us. It was not only Percy who was found guilty in the court before. It was all those who’d gone into Tartarus except Nico, for who’s safety was thought to be dead. The look of pain in their eyes when they said he was dead. I was cursed, obviously, because I was the only one out of the jury they recognized. Majority votes would nominate what to do with them.

       Walking slowly from the Court House to the House of Earls, I looked at Sebastian. “ Now that they think he is dead, Sebastian, what shall we tell him?”

“ The truth, Master.” Said Sebastian, “ we must. Perhaps leaving out descriptions, but whatever happens to them we must tell him.”

“ He will be in agony waiting if I do not.” I recognized, acquainting myself with the thought that I would have to tell Nico of their deaths. _Either way, Nico, Hades knows how to torture me in this assignment. No court trails get set without Hades’s consent. Percy only made trouble to him anyways. But Nico won’t know that, I won’t tell him that. He’s broken enough for me, and will be broken farther when I tell him of these deaths._ I bit my lip. Another high-up royal was ruining my life again. And to have thought that that day, when Nico was with me and I’d closed my eyes looking inside myself, I was the closest to happiness as I’d ever been sense that day so many years ago, so far off I could scarcely remember the happiness I’d felt then. Had it even been happiness at all before that? I could still clearly remember the day when whatever I’d felt that contented me washed away forever. The day when pain had drown my happiness, the day that begun it all when I saw my parents, dead and cold.

       The silence in the Hall of Earls was uncomfortable to say the least. No one talked, and I looked over to Soma. He didn’t like making this jurisdiction, I could tell. He certainly wouldn’t stay for their executions immediately after if it was indeed voted in, and nor would I. Alois and Erik might stay if it was voted in. I looked at Alois, he had absolutely no idea what being around them felt like. He only knew Dante, he only knew Dante’s pain and he knew of Dante’s demigod side less than his monster side. However, one thing I could say about Alois is that he made wise decisions when they had to be made, as did Luka. No doubt killing these demigods would send us backlash from Olympus. Alois realized that, or at least I thought.

      The silence as the votes were passed in. It was not like other electoral decisions where talk was everywhere. On the large chalkboard, in yellow chalk read, _ELECTORAL VOTES FOR THE EXECUTION OF HALF-BLOODS._ Very blunt, though it was perfectly to the point. There were three boards for each side of the vote. One was for all of their deaths, the second for maiming and then death, and third was for no death at all. The monster at the board was unbiased, trained not to cheat with ballots and put under a spell to not cheat on the ballot votes. The first mark went on the second board, and a few cheered for their side. Then it went silent again. I looked up at Hazel, and she knew I was staring at her. She gripped the bars of the iron wrought cage she was in, looking for hope in the eyes of the mostly demonic crowd. I paid attention for the fifth mark on the boards, which was Erik’s. Far off in the front, I could see Delilah sitting in a separate chair, looking bored already. The fifth vote went onto the third board. There was obvious disapproval, and Erik shook his head. “ DON’T YOU FOOLS ALL SEE IF THEY DIE SO DO WE?!” He yelled, his voice riveting through the hall. Then it went silent. “ You fools.” Erik finished in a more normal tone.

    As tradition, Earls must sit during the entire election. I watched as my vote for the “ _None Above”_ passed, which was the 3rd board which stated for them to be freed. You could tell the stress on the demigod’s faces, the gleams in their eyes. An old part of me stirred, bringing unpleasant memories, traumas, and a few flashbacks into my mind again. I was almost ready to vomit on the Earl in front of me. I did not, however. My old human scars seemed more visible now. I clenched my knees, and Sebastian turned to me. “ Now, now, Master.” He whispered calmingly, “ you’ll be alright, there is no danger here except the ones hanging above us.” I looked to Percy. He was staring at me as though he was trying to brutally murder me with his eyes.

“ He’s staring at me, Sebastian.” I whispered, staring back at Percy. “ Just staring at me.”

“ Ignore him, Master.” Sebastian whispered, “ look away.”

I did as Sebastian said, looking at my shoes. Something tugged on my sleeve, and I looked at Soma. “ Ciel-” He whispered, “ Percy’s creeping me out.”

“ He’s looking at me, Soma, not you.”

“ I don’t like the way he’s looking at you, Ciel.”

“ Ignore it, Soma.”

“ You know what happens at execution time.” Soma leaned back in his chair, staring forward. “ They’re let out of the cages, dropped among us. He’ll try to kill you.”

“ Not if Sebastian is by me.”

“ You’ll have honor.” Said an Earl from behind me. “ The one who kills Jackson and wins the love of the son of Hades is glorified.”

“ I will not kill Percy Jackson.” I said, “ I will not kill Percy Jackson.”

“ What a pity.” Said the Earl, leaning back. “ You’re still on the path to glorification, however!”

I did not turn around again.

          The sound of the chalk hitting the black board became agonizing after a while. My side of the vote was losing greatly to the second. The second, horrible board. I wanted to jump up and rattle the cages so hard that they broke, which granted, I could do at any given time. Finally, the final vote was cast on the board. The second board had won. I began to walk quickly out of the row, but the Earls who remained sitting did not make my escape easy. I did not get out of the row before the bottoms of the cages fell out, and the demigods fell upon the crowd (all except Jason Grace, of course.) Percy Jackson jumped over the chairs as some Earls fled and Annabeth followed his lead with a look of hellfire in her eyes, but Percy caught me first, tackling me to the floor and choking me full force. “ YOU BASTARD! YOU MOTHER FUCKING TRAITOR!” Percy screamed as the fights began; his green eyes shone like Greek fire burning at damned souls. Annabeth was preventing Sebastian from getting to me, her eyes like a storm that would kill thousands. Percy’s grasp was intense as fluid filled my lungs. Even if I was a demon, I would die from it, for he was making my own body attack me. I took out a dagger which was concealed in my suit coat and stabbed him in the side. He tensed, and I took that time to throw him off of me and into the steel seats. The burning fluid left my lungs quicker than it had entered, yet I was thrown into a frenzy of coughs which blurred my vision of the mayhem around me. Annabeth stopped the fight with Sebastian, running to assist the unconscious Percy whom demons were flocking. My blade jerked violently from where it was stuck in his side, and it flew back into my hand. I ran out despite the pressure in my lungs which continued to make me cough, and did not turn to see if Sebastian was behind me.

***

      “ Ciel?” I said, as he opened the door. “ What happened, is Percy alright?”

“ I don’t know.” Ciel said quietly, Sebastian walking in behind him.

“ You should have protected him, dammit!” I cried, “ you should have protected him!”

“ Nico.” Ciel looked down, “ I don’t know.”

“ Why do you keep saying that!?” Tears welled in my eyes, and I sat on the bed. Ciel sat next to me as Erik walked in.

“ They have escaped.” Said Erik, “ all of them. You know what this means.”

“ I do.” Said Ciel, putting his arm around me. I leaned closer to him, putting my head on his shoulder, his clothes absorbing my tears.

“ Why did he even do it?”

“ He ate at least ten half-bloods before trying to set them free. Percy was protecting the eleventh, an Aphrodite first year. The Earl must have exposed Ciel somehow.”

“ And what of me, Erik?” I said, and he sighed, looking at me with remorse.

“ They told the other demigods you’d been killed.” Said Erik, “ and Percy thinks Ciel did it.”

“ Oh.” I said sadly, " what did he do, you know, when the votes were decided?”

“ Nico-” Ciel sighed. “ You’ll hate me if I tell you.”

“ Tell me.”

“ Nico-”

“ TELL ME.”

“ He attacked me, Nico. I didn’t want to say this. He attacked me, choking me and filling my lungs with my blood. I had to, Nico, I had to do what I did or else I would have died.”

“ What did you do, Ciel?”

“ Nico-”

“ What did you do?”

“ I stabbed Percy.”

“ With your sword?”

“ No, a dagger.”

“ Where?”

“ Nico-”

“ Damn you, Ciel. Damn you.” I pushed him away and curled up on the bed. He got up, and realized he had no where else to go.

“ It was hard for me too.” Said Ciel, his arms folded at his stomach like someone punched him. His face showed an entirely different expression than the rest of his body. “ It was hard because I knew you’d be this way. You made me tell you what happened, I didn‘t want to tell you. Percy may or may not be alive, as well as Annabeth and-”

“ And Hazel, Leo, all those who went to Tartarus but me.” I put my head into the bedding, sobbing. I didn’t hear his answer.

***

       He wept, and I dared not even lay a hand on his shoulder. I knew his eyes would be pained from the weeping that he did, and laid on my bed, wishing for a moment but then stopping because wishes usually never worked for me. I wanted to talk to him but I didn’t, and was surprised when his weeping stopped for a few brief moments. I thought he was asleep, and silently went past him. “ Ciel.” He said, turning around. His eyes were dark from tears, and I could tell that his voice was sore.

“ Yes, Nico?” I said, and he gestured me to sit with him. I did, and he came towards me, hugging me. I laid down next to him and he held me closer, as though I was a teddy bear of some sort.

“ Nothing. I just, I just..” He trailed off, and closed his eyes. “ Maybe I can sleep now.”

“ I don’t know.” I said, “ I figured you’d hate me after this.”

“ I don’t, you were protecting yourself from Percy. You had no choice but to do that.” Nico said, “ The Earl ate 10 half-bloods and he was saving the eleventh. It was a justified murder, right?”

I sighed, for I would have to tell him the truth. “ In our world, no. In their world, yes. There is never good grounds in our world for killing an Earl. If Percy was a demon either he’d be praised or killed on spot. Our world is a convoluted place, Nico.”

“ Our.” He repeated loftily as he leaned on me, “ that’s right. I’m a monster now, it’s so easy to forget it’s just…” He laughed a little bit, and held me a little closer. “ Hell that Earl was probably hungry and demigod souls are tempting, right? That doesn’t necessarily justify him, but now I can see why he did it. And, Percy, being his usual self, saved the Camp again. But now Percy’s going to get killed.”

“ Yes.” I said, “ unfortunately, I am sorry. I did all that I could, Nico, surely you must realize that.”

“ I’m starting to.” Said Nico, “ that’s another reason why I’m forgiving you-that’s if you even need my forgiveness. Also you comfort me somehow.” He closed his eyes and fell asleep, as did I. That was enough for one day.

***

      “ So, Ciel stabbed Percy?”

“ Yeah.” Said Alois, “ you aren’t mad, are you?”

“ No, why would I be? I didn’t even know Percy or any of those people. It’s like reading an obituary; sure, you feel bad, but it’s not enough to make you cry or feel the same sadness as those who knew the person.” I said wondering how Nico would react to this. Luka jumped on the bed like he had not a care in the world, which was true. I got on the other bed and started jumping on it in a similar fashion. It was rather fun, and Alois joined me.

“ I suppose so.” Said Alois, “ they all escaped though.”

“ What did you vote for, to be curious.” I said, “ death or no death?”

“ No death, but I knew death was going to win anyways,” Alois shrugged. “ Olympians are going to go mad when they find out. Hopefully they’ll spare the smart Earls, which includes everyone in this house and the three more coming.”

“ Three more coming?”

“ Yes, three lady Earls are coming to live with us. It add on about 5 acres or so to the house, so it’ll look different when we get back. By the time we do get back, however, they’ll be moved in. I wonder who they are.” Said Alois, “ this kind of stuff happens when an Earl dies. People get shifted, more people get put in. There’s a lot of hassle with it. We’ve been relocated at least 5 times since becoming Earls, but once a group is established like ours is, they stay together.”

“ I wonder what these lady Earls are like.” I said, smiling, imagining it already as we enjoyed the beds of the hotel.


	12. Acceptance

***

      “ It’s nice to be home.” I said to Ciel, noticing some of the lights were on in the mansion. It was very, very early in the morning, and the sun wasn’t even up. I trotted inside, and walked into the living room where I’d met Ciel and the other Earls, assuming the new Earls' they'd been expecting would be there. It was empty.

“ Just as I thought.” Said Ciel, sitting on the couch. “ They’re dead.”

“ And what can lead you to make that hypothesis?”

“ Nico, the demigods escaped the hall. Monsters were coming at them, it was a kill or be killed situation that luckily the Earls in this house got themselves out of.” The front door opened and in walked L. L walked into the living room and sat in his usual way in a Lazy-Boy in the corner.

“ So, how many demigods died?” Said L, “ did any?”

“ No, not one died in the skirmish.” Said Erik, appearing out of nowhere. I wondered for a moment if one day I could be able to do that. _What the hell, Nico._ I thought, _your thinking about being a monster when Percy almost got killed by people who are almost exactly like you? Your sick, you really are. I suppose that’s how your supposed to be though, huh?_ I sighed, and curled up in the chair. Erik leaned back a little like someone had punched him, and regretfully looked at the floor before dodging out at an inhuman pace.

***

    I played my organ anxiously, and Delilah sat on a chair, woken out of sleep when I begun to play. Not even realizing she was there, I apologized quickly. She looked irritated. “ Delilah, why are you even still here?”

“ Erik, it’s 2 A.M. I’m not walking home until at least 8 or 10 cause I am too tired.” Said Delilah, yawning. Sense she was so small compared to me, she was able to curl up in my arm chair.

“ Okay, I can’t argue with you there, we can’t all have insensitivity to not getting 8 hours.” I said, “ shall I play something for you to fall back asleep?”

“ No thanks.” Said Delilah, relaxing back into the chair. Soon, she’d fallen asleep again. Delilah was a cute little girl, and I’d made a bond with her. She was like a daughter, a daughter which I‘d never had. On occasion after a night of slaying Slayers I would buy her things like chocolate bars or a scarf, something like that. To be tough she’d say she got it off of a slayer, and I’d never say that wasn’t true. I laughed a little when I noticed not only had she curled up in my chair, but that she was using one of my favorite capes for a blanket. Seeing her like that almost made me forget about Nico, but once the factor of her cuteness faded, that was all I was left with.

      What a paradox the two brothers were. Both were weathered by horrible and more than horrible events in their lives, yet when it came to accepting the fact that they were vampires, they were totally different. I closed my eyes, recalling when Dante was bitten in my head.

_He was turned around, facing the window, the departing sunlight casting a large shadow behind him and a golden light upon his skin. He did not turn to face me. The delicious taste of Nico’s blood lingered on my tongue. “ I know what you’re here to do.” Said Dante, turning to me. His eyes looked dead, and his head was down as he walked closer to me. I could see he was crying, and his features looked solemn. “ Will it be different, Erik?”_

_“ It is what you make it, Dante.” I told the forlorn boy honestly. He looked up at me, taking off his old, beaten glasses and wiped his eyes._

_“ Can I start again?” He asked, “ just rewrite myself, persona and all? Can I just become a psychotic rich vampire with a hot demon boyfriend who’s a psycho too and be totally happy? I feel myself falling into insanity-I've been trying to fight it, to not let it show. Now can I let it run loose like some animal and have it destroy the part of myself I was trying to hold onto?”_

_“ If you make your life that way.”_

_“ Do it, Erik, I want to be that. I want to be the rich psycho vampire boy with the hot demon boyfriend who’s psycho just like me.” Dante said, “ will it be easier to say what I feel and think?”_

_“_ _I suppose, without a soul things might change, and this seems like it would be an easy path for you-”_

_“ Bite me.” He said with a psychotic smile on his face. He threw the old beaten glasses on the floor and crushed them with his foot. “ Literally.”_

_“ Alright.” I said, and I bit him._

_As soon as I was finished drinking his blood, his body fell to the ground. Unlike with Nico, I felt no remorse for drinking his blood. Alois walked in behind me slowly, and went over to the cold body of Dante. He squatted down and picked up the broken glasses. “ He’ll be needing new ones.” Said Alois, spinning them around in his fingers. “ Ones with proper lenses, no doubt these didn’t fit his eyes at all.” I nodded._

_“_ _He’ll be changed, Alois,” I said, “ when he wakes up. He has plans for himself, he wants to change his personality, everything. He plans on falling into his insanity.” Alois looked forward at the wall, and dropped the broken glasses on Dante. He looked down at Dante’s face lovingly._

_“ I think I’ll like that.” He said, and then he got up, took his arms, and dragged him out of the room._

    Falling out of the memory, I looked at Delilah again. Then, I looked behind me to see Dante, smiling. “ You were thinking about me.” He said, “ I think I can read minds, Erik. You were thinking about when you bit me. And, I wanted to say that you’re right about things changing and stuff. I do like the way I am now, I never thought I'd enjoy this riveting insanity. True, most people would want it to stop, but I like it for some reason.”

“ Good for you, child.” I said, and he laughed slightly when looking at Delilah. " It's normal, though, that you feel that way. Many monsters go insane, and tend to enjoy insanity unlike most humans."

“ Manly as all hell huh?” Dante laughed, referring to Delilah. He shook his head playfully. “ Nope!”

“ Don’t mind her, she fails to accept being called cute a complement.” I said with a shrug, “ just don’t cross her. Once I was hit was a frying pan.”

“ She is rather harsh to you sometimes, considering everything you do for her.“

“ Indeed, but I tend to not care. Delilah has many more adults to support her than me, and I doubt she doesn‘t treat them in a similar fashion in her moments.”

“ Oh! That’s not the only reason that I came. I wanted to reassure you that someday, Nico is going to fully accept this and I think that day is coming soon. Percy Jackson might stay out of the picture sense Nico’s ‘dead,’ and I think Nico’s accepting it the more and more each day. So, I just wanted to tell you that.” Said Dante, “ and I would like to hear a song please.”

“ Sure, whichever song you want to hear.” I said, “ I’ll more than likely know it and if I don’t, by all means you can hum it and I’ll catch at least the beat to it.”

“ ‘Hey You’ by Pink Floyd.”

“ Oh, I’ve heard that one.” I said, and he sat on my bed as I began to play it. He sung along until the very end, and when it was over he burst into tears. “ What, what’s wrong? You wanted me to play that song.”

“ Nothing-it’s just…that was my Mum’s favorite song.” Dante wiped the tears from his eyes. “ I can’t wipe out my past even if I am an entirely different person. I’ll always miss my Mum, always, even if I’m soulless or not. Some emotions just don't change I guess.”

“ My Father was an abusive drunkard who sold me to a circus. My Mother ran away in horror of me.” I admitted, “ I was always broken from that, and I fell into insanity myself. We’re all insane here, Dante, we just fail to realize it or care about it.”

“ I guess.” Dante shrugged and left. I wondered if he’d forgotten what he’d said the night that I'd bit him.

      “ Madame.” I said, and she appeared. “ May I have some tea?”

“ Of course Erik.” She went off to go get it and came back just as quickly.

“ I noticed the lack of music, Erik. Prince Soma is wondering what happened to you.” Said Madame Giry, “ I take it you know that he got a room two floors below specifically to hear your music.”

“ I know.” I said, “ I just didn’t feel like playing tonight, Madame.”

“ You always feel like playing.” Said Madame, “ in the history of your life there is only two times I believed when you refused to play.”

“ That was a long time ago, Madame. Don’t bring it up, I was so foolish then.” I said, laying my hand on the keys half-heartedly. “ My reasons are different this time.”

“ You never let your prey live or suffer. Nico, he’s what’s bothering you.” Said Madame, “ I believe what Dante says. He’s growing more accepting, and with Jackson out of the picture-”

“ What if Percy Jackson is not out of the picture? He could come in, Madame Giry, at any given moment on any given day. I do believe that you people are forgetting that. He isn't dead unless he is proclaimed to be so, and even then.” I said, “ I do feel sympathy for Nico, but I fear more so for what would come to me if Jackson and Levesque found out, especially sense it was I who bit him. Do you see my point, Madame?” She nodded.

“ Levesque and Jackson are no doubt far away by now.” Said Madame looking loftily out the window into the moonlit darkness, “ no one will find you, Erik.”

***

    “ Ciel, that lying bastard.” I said, and Annabeth laid a hand on my shoulder.

“ We’re all sad about Nico’s death, Percy.” Said Annabeth, “ but let’s face it. We really can’t go after Ciel, if that even is his real name.” Hazel sat wordlessly. She’d stopped crying and was just silent, no matter how much Frank tried to cheer her up. “ I can’t believe, though, that this is how he went.”

“ Ciel deceived him.” I said, “ we never should have trusted him.”

“ We couldn’t have known.” Said Annabeth, “ I wonder how it happened, you know?”

“ So do I.” Said Hazel, “ I just-I can’t believe that he’s gone. I won‘t believe that he‘s gone until I see his body or whatever is left of it with evidence.”

“ They could be lying, Hazel‘s right!” Frank said half-heartedly, and I nodded.

“ Yeah, in a snow-ball’s chance. They were monsters, Frank, proud of what they did. Why would they lie about something they‘re proud of?”

***

       “ I should never have forgiven you, because I know I haven’t.”

“ Nico, it was a life or death situation.”

“ Yeah, but still.” Master Nico shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “ None of this is worth it. I want it to go back to the way it was before I met you, but I know that can never happen.”

“ Indeed.” I said, “ in all of my years I have never found a fulfilling way to work back time.”

“ Shut up.” He told me very simply before leaving the Young Master’s office.

      “ I think all of this is breaking him, Master.” I said, “ chipping at him like an artist chips at marble.”

“ I don’t want it this way Sebastian.”

“ Like I said there is no way to reverse time, Master.”

“ I recognize that, Sebastian, though I want to fix the things the wrongs I have done to him. I do care about him, though I suppose you already realize that.” In all of the time I was his butler (which was now over 120 years,) I had never heard him say something like that. He had never said that he’d cared about anyone, and if he did, it was hard to tell. I realized that Master Nico, even in the brief time that they’d known each other, had become very dear to him. “ I’m going to go on a walk, Sebastian.”

“ To where, Master?”

“ You shouldn’t know-I don’t intend on you following me. This is an order. Do not follow or watch over me until my return.” Said Master, and with that, he got up, walked past, and I followed my orders.

      “ Hey S.N., where’s Ciel?” Master Nico came back into the office. He still had a haughty posture as though he was ready to argue with the Young Master.

“ He went for a walk.”

“ And you didn’t go with him why?”

“ He ordered me not too.”

“ Oh geez.” He sat in Master’s chair, his hand on his forehead.

“ I hope you realize exactly how much you mean to him.” I said, slightly irritated. He was acting like a foolish child who refused to see reason. And now, after what my Master had said, things needed to be clarified.

“ I do.” Said Master Nico, “ and I don’t want to hurt him because I love him so much, Sebastian, and at the same time I can’t get over what he did to Percy. You have absolutely no idea how confusing this is because you’re a soulless-” He stopped himself, realizing that he was soulless also.

“ You must forget about this idiotic affection over Percy. That is no longer your life or your place.” I said, not holding back a single word of what must be said. “ This is your life and you have to accept it and acknowledge it for what it is! You are a vampire, a monster, and you shouldn’t be siding with humans and demigods whom will die in what will seem like an instant. You need something that will last, and my Master is so willing to stay at your side.” I let out a deep breath to calm myself. Master Nico stayed silent for a few moments, looking at me as though I’d slapped him before opening his mouth slightly in shock. “ Jackson is alive, and you should be thankful to my Master for at least that.” He remained silent.

“ I never believed it was a butler’s place to tell me such.”

“ Ah, yes, but I am not your butler yet.”

“ Yet?”

“ No doubt Master will share my services with you-soon I’ll be following your orders and as well as his.” Yes, I could see the day on the horizon, both far and near from that point. “ However, these things are all depending on you, Nico, and they are not yet in place. Will you stop this foolishness and forgive my Master, or will you cling to beliefs that will turn to ash soon enough, being left with nothing?” Nico looked down at the papers on the desk and picked one up.

“ W-What is this?”

“ Documents on the deaths that were caused in the Hall of Earls by all of them. The three countesses’ names are on there.”

“ It doesn’t seem like a lot.”

“ That’s the last page.” I said, pointing to a fairly large stack of papers. “ That’s the entirety of it.”

His glance was not horrified, it was full of awe. “ Oh my god, how could they-”

“ They are fighters, Nico. They fight to survive as much as we do. No one should interfere with that balance, it is and will be like that for eternity, and all those who unbalance it will be knocked off. You must choose before the balance tilts into a direction that will cause you to slip off it.”

“ I-I understand.” Nico said, “ I don’t want this, but sense I have too…” 

" Everyone must make choices they do not wish to proceed with. For example, Erik making you a vampire. I too believe you would have been better off as a human, however, we are helpless to the orders of your Father.”

“ Well, I’m not human anymore.”

“ Accept that.”

“ I’m trying, dammit Sebastian don’t you see that?!” Master Nico slammed his head on the desk and begun to weep. I left the room, it wasn’t my place to stay with him. The sound of his sorrowful weeping behind me, I accounted for the chores that needed to be done.

***

      “ There, there brother.” I said, hugging Nico. He just wouldn’t stop crying, much like a baby at 3 A.M. It was my job to comfort him with Ciel being gods-know-where. That was what brothers were supposed to do, or so I guessed anyways. I had no idea how to be a proper brother, so I winged it the best I could. Nico was very different from both Luka and Alois, so I couldn’t even use them as partial examples on how to treat Nico.

       After 20 minutes or so of comforting I got tried so I went to L. “ Nico’s crying again.”

“ About what? I didn't catch it, I zoned out.”

" Don't you mean you fell asleep with your eyes open?"  
" No, I never sleep."

“ How the bloody hell am I supposed to know that?! I’ve been comforting him for the past twenty minutes! It’s your turn!”

“ You have to inform me when you plan on taking turns.”

“ Whatever!” I said, sitting next to him. I looked at the screen, seeing him in tears. “ Do you think he’s ever going to get over it?”

“ Honestly, I have no idea. His attitude switches rapidly, next he’ll be forgiving Ciel and then I don’t even know what happens next. Let's just hope he doesn't go on a rampage and kill everyone, because the way it's looking, chances of that are at a good 65%.”

" Just go help him already."

***

       “ M-Mister Erik?” I rubbed my eyes and got up from the chair. I had no idea where he was but it was morning. I walked out into the house, wondering if Finny was outside. I heard crying and decided to go check it out. I found Nico curled up on Ciel’s spinny-chair, crying like he seemed to do a lot. His eyes were dark from tears, and he gave a final choke before stopping completely.

“ You okay?” I asked him patting his back, wondering if he’d choked on spit or something like that. He looked up at me, his eyes darker than usual from tears, making him look more like a fucked up raccoon (or L.)

“ Oh, hey there Delilah.” He said, and I realized why he was sad.

“ You know, besides Tartarus and Limbo and all that crap being a monster isn’t that bad. It’s actually kind of fun! I know you went through some crazy-ass shit in Tartarus but that stuff isn’t it when it comes to being a monster. We can do cool stuff! We don’t have to go there if we watch our steps in life! We can have a lot of fun, really, and do more stupid crazy stuff than human cause we don’t die that easy and heal super quick. And-”

“ Delilah, it’s okay, you can stop explaining. I’m okay with this fully now.”

“ Are you sure about that? I still don’t believe you.”

“ Yes, I’m sure.”

L walked into the room, saw me, nodded and turned back around. 

" What the hell is with that guy?" I said, " sucks to be you, I mean, you have to be his brother."   
" I'm sure he's not that bad," Nico said, smiling a little. " I just have to get to know my brothers." 


	13. Love and Fleeting Mind

***

      I sat outside, watching the sunrise. It was getting colder, no doubt a sign of early fall. _Yes, it’s been that long. It’s been a few weeks sense it was summer, that when you left there._ I reminded myself, noting Ciel had not yet returned form his walk. No matter, I had to wait for many things, I could wait. Though a thousand horrible things came to mind, I waited patiently, letting the possibilities worry me.

        A small car came up the long driveway and its door opened. There was Ciel, and as soon as he got out, the car sped away. I didn't see the driver, but I thought I saw red. I walked slowly over to the gate, looking at Ciel through it. I grabbed the black thin bars of the Victorian gate. “Where were you?” I asked him, “I was worried.”

“I did not think you would be.”

“Of course I was, Ciel. I love you.”

“Nico-” He was wordless for a few moments, and he leaned on the gate. “This is my house, Nico, let me in.”

“How do I go about doing that?”

“On the inside. The code is 5157892. It’s a little different from usual locks."

     I jabbed in the numbers that he said. Then I stood back and he opened the gate, coming in and closing it behind him. Then he kissed me. I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him closer, closing my eyes. When he pulled away, I opened my eyes, smiling at him. He looked, content. I let him go, wondering if he wasn’t just faking everything again. “ Do you love me, Ciel?”

“ Of course I do, you know that.” Said Ciel, walking closer to me again. “ I don’t have to say it, Nico, you know I do.”

“ Nothing is certain unless it is said.” He looked up into my eyes again and kissed me more intensely this time around. This time when he pulled away, he leaned towards my ear.

“ I love you.” He said, his lips dusting my ear. I picked him up, taking him by surprise, and carried him into the house.

***

     With a slight smirk I dropped the heavy curtain and it went back into place. “ Well, looks like Nico forgave Ciel or Ciel forgave Nico.” I said turning to Alois. He was petting a black Persian cat, and I had absolutely no idea where it had come from.

“ What gives you that idea?”

“ They just made-out behind the gates.”

“ Oh! How sweet.”

“ Indeed.”

“ Was there tongue?”

“ Oh yeah.”

“ Dammit-you should have called me over!” Alois pouted, " I've never seen Phantomhive get hot over someone." 

“ I was too shocked, sorry dear.”

“ It‘s fine, I’m happy at least he’s forgetting all of this demigod nonsense.” Said Alois, “ thank Hades I didn’t have to put you through that phase, dear gods I think I would have poked your eyes out.”

“ I’m happy I didn’t have to go through that too.” I said, sitting next to him. He leaned on me, the cat crossing over onto the couch. “ Where’d the cat come from?”

“ Sebastian’s room. He keeps cats with him-Ciel’s allergic to them, so, I and Erik help him hide them. I named this one Mr. Flufflles.”

“ Mr. Flufflles is a cute name.” I said, picking up the tiny cat. “ He is certainly fluffy.”

“ We already named one Mr. Fluffy.”

I hugged the cat softly. “ He’s so soft.”

“ Sebastian takes care of his cats almost as good as he takes care of his Master.”

“ There’s not a cat smell, though.”

“ Of course there’s not. The servants clean things so quickly there’s not a chance there would be one.” A bell rung somewhere and the cat meowed, and I let him go.

“ That noise…someone upstairs or downstairs has rung a cat bell.” I stared at the cat. _What was it’s name?_

“ It was Sebastian, probably. Ever sense he abandoned Nico in Ciel’s office he’s been in his haven of cats a.k.a. his room.”

“ The door is locked, no doubt.”

“ No doubt about it.” Said Alois, “ he doesn’t want to be here, none of the servants really do.”

“ The Phantomhive ones seem happy though.”

“ I question if they truly are. If you served a person as demanding, cynical, and bitchy as Ciel you couldn’t stay happy forever. It’s almost a fact.”

“ Yes, but they stay.”

“ Maybe Sebastian threatens to kill them if they leave. We don’t know what goes on in the servant’s quarters when the Masters including myself aren’t looking. Right now, Claude could have slaughtered Hannah for making Luka and I a demons and we wouldn't know who killed Hannah.”

“ You’d know it was Claude.”

“ Claude’s a tricky manipulative bastard.”

“ True.” _Who’s Claude and why does he want to hurt my Alois?_

“ He could kill me too.” Alois sat up and looked straight forward. “ At any given moment, at any given time. You have no idea how terrifying it is, Dante. To know that the person who killed you, the one betrayed everything you were to them, could kill you again in the flick of a wrist.”

“ I won’t let that happen.” I said, “ he’ll kill me before he kills you.” I leaned on him, putting my arm around his waist. “ It’ll be okay.”

“ Dante, if you die so does everyone.”

“ No. Hades doesn’t care about me, not as much as he cares for Nico anyway. He probably just thought it was convenient to take care of me and L before we caused problems with Nico. However, you care about me, Alois, and that's all that matters.” Then it occurred to me I wasn’t even sure if he cared about me. “ Right? I mean, you do care? ‘Cause you know I’m quite obsessive over you.”

“ I know you are. I love you, Dante. You and your insanity, you and your slight obsession, everything. I always wanted to be obsessed over, and now that I am I can’t help but love you.” Alois held me closer, “ Ciel…I almost sympathy Nico, he fell in love with an emotionless statue.” Alois and I kissed passionately, letting me drown in my obsession over him again.

    

       “ Uhh-” We quickly separated, looking at Soma and Agni in the doorway. “ S-Sorry!” Soma blushed, “ Agni why don’t we got to another room?!”

“ Exactly Young Prince!” The two quickly shuffled off. Alois and I laughed like hell when they were gone.

      Luka came in to see what we were laughing about. I happily explained to him, and he smiled, sitting in between us. Luka leaned on me, his red eyes glowing. He laughed for a little while “ You treat my brother well or you will die.” Said Luka in a very gravelly, demonic voice.

“ Okay.” I said, “ you know, you are just adorable sometimes.”

“ Thank you!” His voice went back to normal and he nuzzled my side. “ You're warm like a heating blanket-it makes you nice to lean on when it gets cold.”

“ Thank you.” I said, and he smiled up at me. _How old was he?_

“ I’m sorry for being so blunt. You always treat Alois nicely and the way he wants-nothing to worry about. Besides, I really like you too.” Luka hugged me. “ will you stay with us for eternity?”

“ I hope so.”

“ You promise?”

“ Yes.”

“ Perhaps we can make a pact on that…”

“ Why not?”

“ No.” Said Alois, “ that would send the wrong message to Hades.”

“ Didn’t think of that.” Said Luka, “ well, I guess that’s why you’re here, Alois. To protect me from myself doing stupid stuff that will no doubt lead to my obliteration!”

“ Hades doesn’t care about me though.”

“ But we do!” Said Luka hugging me, “ we always do, for all of eternity!”

“ I would hate it any other way.” I said, “ if you get the life you want, you’ll never truly get it in the way you want. I can at least remember that.”

“ You mean, your starting to forget things?”

“ No-it’s just a few memories are fuzzy. I can remember other things fine but these few memories are getting fuzzier and fuzzier. One of them is of Mum, and I don’t want to loose it.”

“ I know who can help you!” Said Alois, smiling. “ He deals drugs, actually, and was a former ally of Ciel’s. Though he messed that up a lot. I’ve talked to him a few times.”

“ Your going to let a stoner deal with my head?”

“ He’s smarter than you think. He’s a mind reader, mind bender, mind shifter-”

“ I get the point!”

“ No need to get grouchy!”

“ I’m not, it’s just, a few things are starting to go fuzzy now. A-Alois?”

“ What?”

“ When’s my birthday?”

“ You never told me.”

“ I-I can’t remember it.” I paused, trying to think of general information about myself. “ This is worse than I thought.”

“ Well, what’s your Mum’s favorite song?” Luka asked, letting me go.

“ I-I don’t remember.”

“ Now, Dante, it was by Pink Floyd.”

“ ‘Rocket Man?’”

“ No, that’s by Sir Elton John.”

“ I don’t even know what the song I said sounds like.”

“ You must’ve heard it before!”

“ No, Luka, I honestly just knew the title.” Scared, I ran out of the room. I bumped into someone.

 

    “ Whoa! Dante, are you alright, you look like you’ve just seen a ghost!” I looked at the Indian boy. He knew me, and I looked at his face closely, studying everything in my brain for a name. “ Dante, are you alright?”

“ W-Who are you?”

The Indian boy laughed. “ You must know my name, Dante! You’ve been here for so long-I mean how could you not know my name, did Alois put you up to this?”

“ Who’s Alois?”

“ Very funny Dante!”

“ But I really don’t know you!” I ran away, and he looked as I went past, scared. Tears flew out of my eyes. I was forgetting everything so quickly now- _who’d I been talking too? Where am I going-what is this place? Who am I?_


	14. Brothers and their Protectors

***

     I was the one who found Dante in his state. “ What’s wrong?” I asked him, seeing he was crumpled on the floor. He looked scared of me.

“ Who are you!? Go away!” He yelled at me, and I staggered back.

“ Dante?”

“ Is that my name?” He cried, tears falling from his almost blue, almost black eyes.

“ Ciel-”

“ Is that my name?!” I didn’t know what the hell was wrong with him, and he was creeping me out. I ran to Ciel’s office, explaining what had happened in the hallway. He got up from his desk, and followed me, Sebastian behind us. When I found Dante in the hall again, Claude and Alois were with him this time.

“ We have this under control, Phantomhive!” Alois hissed, “ go away before you make it worse!”

“ Are you getting Lau?”

“ We're on our way there.”

“ So perhaps you do have everything under control.”

“ Who’s Lau and what the hell is going on with Dante?”

“ He’s lost his memories, Nico, of everything! They were all going fuzzy when I was talking to him and then he ran out. I found him like this.” You could tell that Alois himself was almost in tears. But even in his state, Dante hugged him as though he had a faint memory of the love and obsession that he had for Alois.

“ You don’t have to cry.” Said Dante obviously getting over his hysteria. “ I don’t know who you are but I don’t want you to cry.”

      I was obviously angry and sad. This was the third person in my life who’d lost all of their memories-a person who I’d miss. As I walked back to Ciel’s office the only thing I could do was hope that this person was going to help Dante. I sat in Ciel’s office, waiting for him to explain. He noticed my silence and began. “ Lau is a Earl in our world and a drug dealer in the human world. His talents were to create illusions in people’s minds when I was human, roughly your age.”

“ So he made a drug induced state even more messed up than it already was?”

“ Yes, and that made people continue coming back to his den. Also, with new brands of opium, he needed not to interfere with the people who bought from him. He focused on other things with the mind after that, such as recovering memories. Some men would come in the opium den from other opium dens completely out of reality. To get more money, he’d stop the affects of the drug they were on and recover lost memories. He began to get monster clients for his mind ability alone.”

“ So, a stoner is going to mess with Dante, my brother’s, mind?”

“ Yes.”

“ He could mess it up permanently?”

“ If Dante doesn’t play his cards right.”

“ What about Alois?”

“ He’s the only reason Lau would even see the case. Lau only fixes minds for Earls or rich monsters sense they have money. Dante is the son of Hades. Lau is a dragon. You know where the expression ‘Puff the Magic Dragon?’”

“ Yeah, what about it? It was based off of drugs too, right?”

“ Correct. The title partly came from the fact that in their human form, dragons could do drugs and not get the mental side-effects when the high finishes, such as decreased intelligence. They remain diligent, prudent, and wise even in drugged states.”

“ Dragons have human forms?”

“ Yes.”

“ Peleus-”

“ Was not taught how to change into his human form so he never did. Perhaps because, in a human form, he would be more likely to wander off.”

“ Okay.” I said, “ so, Dante’s going to be alright?”

“ I believe so.”

***

    The London townhouse smelled of opium, and Dante recoiled. “ Where the hell are we?” He said, “ who the hell are you people?” I fought back my tears as Ran-Mao came out.

“ Hello, Ran-Mao.” I said with a nod. “ We have a problem.”

“ Lau isn’t busy today.” She said, “ he’ll see you.” She went behind a curtain-clad doorway and came out again. “ Come in.”

     Lau sat on a bean-bag chair, a pipe in one hand. “ Ah, Earl Trancy. What brings you today?”

“ Dante. Lau, he’s forgotten everything, even his own name.” I said, “ I’ll pay you all the money you want-just, please fix him. I want my Dante back. I’m supposed to be protecting him, and I’m failing.”

“ No, your not at fault.” Said Lau, “ if a butterfly is caught by a human and it’s wing is crushed, it did not fail at flying because there was nothing it could have done to prevent it from getting a wing crushed.”

“ Yes, Lau, but there was something I could have done!”

“ You did not order this on Dante, did you?”

“ I did not order any this.”

“ Did you see anyone doing it?”

“ I did not see anyone doing it to him.”

He made a face. “ Then it isn’t your fault.”

“ Why are his eyes closed?” Said Dante in his hysteria, “ why isn’t he opening them?”

“ I am in an illusionary dream in which I do not want to awaken.” Said Lau, “ the world spins around me, and I listen to it, painting it in my mind. Why would I want to ruin it all by opening my eyes?”

“ ‘Cause you’d bump into things.”

“ Well, I don’t.”

“ Then I guess having your eyes closed is fine.” Said Dante, and Lau smiled softly.

“ Your mind is so simple right now. How could you possibly have mental powers?”

“ It’d be more complex if you fixed it dammit! I’m not paying you to have a conversation!” I yelled at Lau, and he went back, frowning.

“ Fine.” Said Lau, and he moved over on the chair. “ Sit with me, boy.”

      A little dazed now for some reason, Dante fumbled down onto the floor next to Lau. Lau touched Dante’s forehead as though he had a cold, and Dante’s face went blank, then his eyes closed. He fell backwards, and Lau turned his head, focusing on Dante through his closed eyes. In the few minutes I stood there, staring, he took a puff from his pipe. I ran off into another room; one which was empty. Claude sat next to me on a chair in the room. He had been so silent that I had nearly forgotten he was there.

“ You really are scared, aren’t you, Master?” Claude asked, and I nodded.

“ I don’t want to loose him, Claude! I love him, it’s my job to protect him whether Hades says to or not and all this shit is happening to him and I can’t control it! I’m powerless-my hands are tied as he slips away from me like sand in an hourglass! Of course, you’d know nothing about that would you? You hate me, you hate everything. You betrayed me.”

“ Master.” Was all Claude said, then he remained silent.

“ This is hell for you, isn’t it, Claude? I can’t say you didn’t deserve this.”

“ Master-”

“ Admit it, Claude! Say it!”

“ Master…”

“ SAY IT.”

“ I’m sorry.”

“ What?”

“ I’m sorry for what I did.”

My bitterness turned into raw anger. “ You sneaky piece of shit you think your so clever trying to pull this on me? Well guess what, Claude, it isn’t working.”

“ I am being sincere, Master.”

“ On no grounds would you apologize.” I said, “ I refuse to believe it! Now I order you to say it!”

“ This is hell.”

“ Good boy.” Hearing him say that in the darkened room that smelled of opium comforted me. I closed my eyes and leaned back in the chair in which I sat. “ I wonder how much longer. I’ll wait as long as it takes, as long as I get my Dante back.”

“ I’m sure Master Dante will be back to normal.”

“ Don’t comfort me. Only Hannah is allowed to do that; you lost all of your privileges a long time ago.”

“ I’m surprised you don’t give Hannah the title of head servant.”

“ Eh, I was thinking about it but you’ve already been stripped of everything else, so.”

“ How kind.” He said half mockingly, “ that you leave me with at least that.”

“ Don’t mock me you son of a bitch.”

“ I’m not mocking you.”

“ I want Dante.” I curled up into a ball, remembering his words. _“ I won’t let that happen. He’ll kill me before he kills you.”_ Tears welled in my eyes as I remembered the touch of his hand, his voice… _”It’ll be okay.”_

“ Master Dante will be alright.”

“ I don’t trust you.”

“ You have valid reasons.”

“ You're trying to fool me, Claude, just like back then. There is something waiting in that mind, it’s like a rattling snake ready to bite.” Then, the thought dawned me. “ Your going to kill me again soon, aren’t you? With Tartarus closed…I’ll never come back.” I got up and ran away from Claude, locking myself in an unknown room at Lau’s house, realizing that somewhere, downstairs, Claude might be looking to kill me. A sickening taste rose in my mouth, and I cried.

***

    “ I hope Hera has nothing to do with this.”

“ I’m sure she’s not. Everyone thinks that you’re dead, and temporarily, the god and goddesses think this as well.”

“ I almost forgot about that, Ciel.” I snickered at myself. “ Perhaps it’s better that way.”

“ It is better that way.” Said Ciel, “ you will not realize that for quite some time.”

“ I guess.” I said, “ it’s just hard because miss them.”

“ How is that?”

“ After what you did, Ciel.” I paused to see if he was following along with what I was saying. “ I love you, and you stabbed Percy. I love the person who almost killed Percy. I shouldn’t miss him because of you. I try to block out my desires to see them again and fill them with something. Now Dante is more mentally gone more than he ever was.”

“ What about L?”

“ I-I honestly didn’t think about him.”

“ You should go to your brother.” Said Ciel, “ he’s close to Percy’s age, correct?”

“ Kind of, like at least 5 years off-he looks older than Percy.”

“ He’s still older than you.” Ciel shrugged and looked down at his papers. I left, dead set on having a long conversation with L.

 

      “ I’m not like Percy-I don’t think I’ll ever be like Percy.” Was the first thing L said when I walked in.

“ Yeah.” I said, “ you won’t be like Percy at all. But I can still talk to you, right?”

“ I don’t have anything else to do.” L said, so I pulled up a swivel chair and sat next to him.

“ Which Earl protects you, L?”

“ Erik.”

“ Why isn’t he here?”

“ He comes here often-you just don’t realize it." He paused, his eyes still fixed on the screen. " We haven’t talked in a while, even when I see you at meals.”

“ I’m sorry for that.”

“ It’s fine.”

“ Who is the person you miss the most from your human years, L?”

“ That’s a tough decision. I definitely miss my boyfriend-”

“ Back up. You had a boyfriend?”

“ His name was Light Yagami.” He looked down at the keyboard. " Light-kun."

“ What happened to him?”

“ He was the criminal I was looking for the entire time. He's dead now.”

“ That must’ve hurt.”

“ It did-I got over it, but not over him.”

“ Well, maybe you could still find him-he lives here, right?”

“ No, Nico, he was Japanese.”

“ Oh-sorry man.”

“ It’s fine.” L looked up at the monitors. “ From what I gathered about Lau, the Dante situation could go either way. Alois hasn’t returned yet; though it hasn’t been long enough for me to say that things have gone wrong. The mind is an intricate thing, no doubt Lau needs time.”

“ Why did this have to happen to Dante?” I said, “ I felt like I was just starting to get used to him and then he’s gone.”

“ Oh trust me, I know that feeling.” Said L, “ it’s happened to me a lot. Just when you start to like someone they get snatched away from you, leaving you with the empty feeling you had before. Holes were ripped in my life when I became a vampire, everything changed, everything. I no longer had anyone to rely on, I had no ground to stand on. I had to start everything again.”

“ How did that go?”

“ Actually pretty well. I did a lot of cases, small things, but then they got bigger and bigger. Now I was snatched away from that too-now I’m here, and I have to start again.”

“ This must be pretty boring.”

“ Oh no, I carry on. I’m solving a case right now, actually.” L said, looking up at the screen. That was when I noticed the cameras were no longer on us, but on different places. “ See that guy in the trench coat?”

“ What about him?”

“ He’s innocent.”

“ How can you tell?”

“ I could teach you.” Said L, considering. “ It would be good to have someone as a go-between. I often don’t see face to face with clients, and I’ve been lacking a faithful go-between.”

“ Okay.” I said, “ we’re family, so I should do that kind of stuff for you. Hell I’m not doing anything interesting-this’ll be fun.”

“ Well, sit back Nico and let me teach you.”

***

      There was a soft knock on the door. “Dante?” I called from the darkened room. There was no response. “ Open it, Dante.” The locks slid, and in he came.

***

     Alois looked worn from everything. He was lying on his side, and he looked like he’d been crying a lot. It pained me to see him that way. I knelt down next to him, picking him up and giving him a hug. “ It’s okay now my dear.” I said, “ I remember everything.”

“ And what of Claude?” Alois looked up into my eyes, looking for something of which I wasn't sure.

“ I sent him home.”

“ How?”

“ My mind powers are fully developed now.”

“ Ah-you don’t mean, mind control?” Alois laughed a little evilly. “ Think of what you and I can do with that. We can make people give us free shoes, make the bus driver think we paid for our bus fare, make the people never remember we just ate that person, get into clubs-what fun!”

“ I suppose.” I walked over to the window, looking out into the streets.

“ Is something wrong, Dante?”

“ No, nothing. Let’s go home.” I took his hand, and we walked out of Lau’s house. As we went to the bus stop, I made sure to put a few hundred pounds to the homeless boy outside. It was about to rain too, and I hoped he’d use the money wisely. I would never forget how I’d hated the rain, how sometimes it gave me the cold that could make me feel like my lungs were rattling. I could never forget that, just as I’d never forget anything about my former self again.


	15. The Little Demon Girl

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some fandoms haven't been expressed as much as I would've liked them to be, so Death Note and Phantom of the Opera are more so mentioned in this chapter, as well as Delilah.

***

     “They sit in silence a lot like that, don’t they?” Erik asked, examining Nico and Ciel on the screen.

“Yes, most of the time they don’t talk.” I said, turning to him slightly. “The murderer was the kid, by the way. You know, the one you didn’t like.”

“ Good to know people like that’ll be off the streets!” Said Erik, rubbing his hands together.

“You didn’t like him because he stared at the blind man. I have to say I hated him too.”

" Horrible things have happened to me for my disfigurement, more than the staring of meager-minded people.” Erik said, looking down. He showed signs of being a murder, signs of mental conditions caused by what had happened, signs of parental abuse, signs of rejection. In short, many things have wrongly happened to Erik, and most had been out of his control. Even though he did not tell me, I knew. He knew I knew. 

“People who pick off the weak are weaker than those they pick off of.” I said, and Erik nodded.

“ Indeed.” Said Erik, “ You’re a good boy, L.”

“ I know I am young compared to you.” I said, “ That much is obvious. You’re a mysterious man, Erik, and so many things give factors about you away. However, I realize that you are in complete realization of that.”

“ Smart boy.” Erik chuckled, “ you look at what is beyond the cover of the book, and inspect each page with a microscope. In short time, you are able to make hypotheses that even the book cannot make about itself.” He looked outside. “ I might need your help with something.”

“ What?” I said, “ I think you’ll be capable of doing things on your own.”

“ Thirty slayers have moved close to Delilah.”

“ You think they suspect-”

“ I know they suspect. I would like you to watch her, and alert me when something is going wrong with her. Then I can shadow-travel to her and save her.”

“ Can’t Delilah save herself?”

“ Against thirty, tall, bulky slayers? No.” I said, “ She’s so small and cute. It would be like a teddy bear going up against an ogre.”

“ And Delilah’s like a daughter to you. I can tell you’ve never had any children.”

“ Yes, Delilah is like my daughter. Her Father is a horrible demon-I killed him.” Erik shrugged, “ I never asked her to stay with me. Sometimes I will have her help Madame with cleaning-I give her money for it, so I suppose that she’s a second maid-Madame Giry gets lonely, so she enjoys the company Delilah gives. I never asked Delilah where she stays, but she talks about her friends often. I’m happy she has friends. I never had friends.”

“ You do now.”

***

    “ I suppose I have friends now.” I leaned back in the chair. “ How are Nico and Dante being protégés going?”

“ Well. Dante picks up things faster than Nico, but it’s going well. They might be able to help on the next case I’m assigned. However, the next case I work on will be when the thirty slayers no longer threaten Delilah. I’m one who pays back services.” L said, “ I still remember you protecting me from slayers.”

“ They were easy to dispose of.” I shrugged, looking at the computers. “ Nothing I couldn’t handle.”

“ You can handle a lot.” L noted, “ I’m keeping that in mind.”

“ Yet another person with a pawn complex.”

“ You’re one to talk.”

“ I only have a pawn complex at certain times.”

“ Or so you say.”

“ You’ll never give up that detective side of you. It is what you are, just as the Kira side of Light Yagami would have never given up. It would always be there, even if it was inconsistent.” I said, “ You need someone to talk to about him. I have appointed that person as myself. You obviously miss him, and it’s obviously affecting you.”

“ Your right on that.” Said L, staring at the keyboard of his computers. “ But Light’s dead.”

“ L, dear boy, we are vampires. Death means nothing to us.”

“ His body is already half-decomposed by now.”

“ Well then.”

“ He’s gone, Erik.”

“ There is not much that I can tell you.” I admitted, “ I felt horrible when Christine died, though I did nothing. I couldn’t bring myself to force her into an existence that she’d hate.”

“ I think Light would have liked being a vampire. He could pick off criminals by eating them.” L said, “ But I wasn’t in Japan.” I thought about it.

“ One time there was an Earl who had a mortal wife. I remember him because I enjoyed talking to him. One day, his wife died. Years after her death, the Earl hit rock bottom. Drinking, gambling, and trying to get back the happiness his wife gave him with these false pleasures. Finally, he asked me to come with him to her grave and to bring a shovel. The Earl was now homeless and did not own a shovel, so he called upon me for one as well as keys to the cemetery so we could get in without hassle.”

“ You had the keys because Slayers were in the graveyard at night, so you got in without suspicion or noise.”

“ Yes, but that element isn’t important to the story. So, once we got in the yard, he dug up the grave with my shovel. He opened the coffin, and there lay her decomposing body. It was a horrible sight, yet he did not cry, and I wondered what brought on this display. He bit the rotting flesh. After biting the rotten flesh, he threw dirt all over the body. The Earl sat in the grave, and I sat above, calling down to ask what he was doing. I guessed he was drunk, and finally decided to go down into the hole to see what he was doing. I began to shake him, asking him for an answer to his madness. I was very tired and frankly had had enough with that shit. Then I noticed much to my horror that beneath the dirt something was moving. Obviously, I cursed and backed away for I had never seen this, and got a slap across the face. The Earl’s wife looked like she had before she was sick, perfectly well and normal. Except this time, she was a vampire. She asked me, ‘Earl Erik! Is that any way to talk in the presence of a woman?’”

“ It was pre-1850.”

“ Yes, I was a young Earl then.” I smiled, “ then they left. He’d brought her back.”

“ That seems to easy.” Said L, “ also it’s odd and unnatural.”

“ But I thought you’d do anything to get Light back.”

“ I would but, I don’t want Kira back in the world.”

“ I understand.” I said, “ Your longing for peace overcomes your need for Light.”

“ Erik, the world will never be in peace.”

“ Indeed, the world was built to be a place of havoc and fear.”

“ As well as happiness and temporary peace.”

“ It will never change.”

“ It will never change.” L agreed, “ Ever.”

***

        “ It would be wise to have the cameras on the slayers instead of Delilah.” I said, “ If she figures out the cameras are on her, she’ll get paranoid, and nothing is worse than having a potential victim paranoid. Also, they’d be useless, because we could see the Slayers planning and make more of a plan.”

“ Alright,” said Erik. He sat with one leg crossed over the other, leaned back, and his arms were on both arms of the chair. I could tell he was relaxed, and not fazed by the fact that there were thirty slayers more than likely stalking Delilah. I deducted that that was Erik’s style. He didn’t stress over certain things that other people would stress over. “ That is a better plan.”

“ Where are these Slayer’s locations?”

      Erik gave them to me, and I programmed my computers to find and watch that area. Erik looked up, amazed as they calibrated. “ Don’t you need to set them up?”

“ No, solving cases for a few Countesses of the Underworld pays off in different ways.” I said, looking at the slayers. Compared to the size of Delilah, Erik was right to make the “teddy bear up against an ogre” analogy. The Slayers went around, doing the usual tasks people moving-in would do. They all came from different countries, and lived in the same place even though they were strangers. Not a word was spoken, and when it was, it was in a language the other could not understand. One spoke Swahili, another Chinese, another Russian, another Hindi, another Spanish, many languages but none of which the other understood. 

“ The Slayer's Council must have sent them.” Erik sneered, and I looked back to him. He was not longer relaxed, and was fixated on the screen.

“ The Slayer’s have a council?”

“ Yes.” Said Erik, “ they always have. More than likely, they’ve ordered our execution. That is how the Earl before me died.”

“ Do all Earls who slay Slayers like you die this way?”

“ Yes.”

“ You're more than likely doomed then.” I said, “ Unless you are unlike the Earls before you.”

“ I fear I am not.” Said Erik, “ but if I and Delilah are to live-” he stopped himself, the got up. “ I am going to get her. Wherever she is, it is not safe for her.”

“ Delilah is a free spirited girl, no doubt she won’t come with you easy.” I said, “ Good luck, Erik.” He nodded and left me in my room.

***

       “ You must come with me.” I told her, “ or you’ll die.”

“ Erik, I’m not afraid of some big-ass Slayers, you know that.” She said, rolling her eyes at me. She skated around me on her roller skates. “ I can’t come with you. I have roller-derbies, school, friends…”

“ Death impending on you, Tartarus closed forever so you’ll never escape, Limbo.” I said, “ Delilah, once Slayers are sent to execute us, they do. They follow orders, and they don’t care who they destroy or how they destroy them. I saw the Earl before me get killed before my very eyes, I remember running, shadow traveling to England in an unshakable fear. I was called for an election the next day to kill that same Slayer. I went back to the home in which we lived, only to find it burned to the ground with salt around the smoldering ashes. I went to the homes of his friends, only to find them in a similar fashion. They will kill everyone you love until they find you.”

“ You lived, though, Erik.” said Delilah, un-phased by everything I’d just said. “ So why won’t I? And no one will hurt them as long as I’m in the way.”

“ You never listen!” I yelled, aggravated at her. I remembered the eyes of the Earl before me, the terror. The ring of salt, oh how it had burned, the smoldering fires that danced like ballerinas in the opera, withering the forms of such beautiful architecture. The remorseless eyes of the Slayer. And yet, the girl did not listen to Erik….Delilah held a slight expression of shock and fear as I began to yell at her in French. I didn’t realize what I was doing or what I was saying until she’d taken her skates and started to run away from me. Pain hit my head like someone had stabbed me with a fire-poker, so I sat down on the floor, making sure that a fire-poker really had not been launched through my head. I took a shaky breath, and looked around. “ If you die,” I said into the empty darkness, “ it is your own fault.” Suddenly, a scream ripped through the darkness, making my headache worse. Delilah ran up the stairs, a mad-eyed Slayer coming from behind her.

“ Mister Erik!” She yelled, and I picked her up, then shadow-traveled quickly away.

     As soon as we were in the house, she clawed at me to put her down. “ Was that really necessary?!” She yelled, irritated.

“ _Vous insolente petite fille! Je n'ai pas eu le temps de penser d'une autre façon!”_ I stopped yelling in French as Madame Giry came up the stairs.

“ Ah, Delilah.” She said with a nod. “ Shall I get you a maid’s uniform and put you to good use?” The Madame smiled, “ no doubt this will be your home until the danger subdues that’s if it ever does.”

“ I’m not staying forever!” Said Delilah with a pout. " I have things to do!"

Madame Giry laughed slightly. “ I’m sure you won’t stay here forever, but until then an extra hand could be good.”

“ Fine, but I want to get paid!” She said, and Madame Giry rolled her eyes.

“ Fine, I will pay you personally to help me.” Said Madame Giry, “ now come.” Reluctantly, Delilah followed Madame Giry down the stairs. I looked down at the rug below me. I was alone once more, but at least Delilah was safe. I sighed and went back down to L.

          “How’d it go?”

“ Well, I guess. She’s here, she’s safe now.” I said, noticing the screens had switched back to the house.

“ Good.” Said L, “ it was quite humorous how Delilah hit the Slayer in the head with a bread-pan then a skillet. She’s a fighter.”

“ She is.” I said with a nod, “ she could take out 5 Slayers of average size all by herself, but with what had happened to the Earl before me…”

“ You got worried, and that’s understandable.” Said L, “ Delilah’s like your daughter, and you are letting her be your servant. So, if you love her like a daughter, then what is Madame Giry to you?”

“ Madame Giry is like a Mother to me, despite the fact she looks as old as me now. I made her a vampire, and she wanted to be my servant.” I said, “ When I first came to the opera, she treated me with kindness and served as a go-between. She got me supplies I needed such as ink-wells and paper.”

“ She was probably so used of doing stuff for you that being a servant was basically commonplace already.” Said L, “ she taught the ballerinas at the opera, right?”

“ You can tell this by the way she walks.” I said, “ And yes, she was. Sometimes when I call for her and she does not come, I will go to see what she is doing, or to make sure she is alright. Most of the times a record is playing and she is dancing to it. The record is often opera, and she prefers them over CDs for some reason. Lately she's been dancing to Adele.”

“ Ballet?”

“ Most often, but sometimes she will dance to something else. To Adele she dances ballet.”

“ I can imagine it.” Said L, “ and how will she get a servant uniform for Delilah?”

“ She’ll shrink it in the washing machine.”

“ Washing machines typically don’t shrink things that much.”

“ She's having Mey-Rin do it, trust me, it shall be shrunk to Delilah's size.”

“ That will be amusing to see.” Said L, moving back to his monitors. “ When’s dinner?”

“ 20 minutes or so.” I said, looking behind me at the clock.

      Nico and Ciel still weren’t talking. “ Did they fight or something?”

“ They don’t talk sometimes.” Said L, " but if you notice, sometimes Ciel will look up and quickly look down when Nico notices.”

“ Did they even talk today?”

“ Yes, a little. Really, it’s a little for them, so I wonder what’s wrong. Maybe it’s something with the demigods? They would have talked about that though.” Said L, “ maybe they just don’t feel like talking today. That’s probably the case. It’s nearing the end of Nico and Dante’s first month here, so perhaps he‘s having some mental conflict that he doesn‘t want to tell Ciel. And in Ciel‘s case, I‘m not surprised he is silent.”

“ Neither am I.” Erik admitted, “ sometimes, if you do not talk to him you will not get a word out of him. Ciel prefers silence most often.”

“ I can tell.” I said, “ he’ll start conversations sometimes, though. Perhaps he senses Nico’s tension and that’s why he’s not talking.”

***

      Delilah accidentally walked into Ciel’s office, though I could tell she was doing it completely intentionally. “ Oh! Sorry, Ciel, wrong office!” She said, the maid’s uniform fit her well-it was a black short-sleeved button down dress with gold buttons. I only assumed that in the short time her stay would be, she would work as a maid for Erik. This was because (as relayed on my computers earlier) Madame had not only asked but said she’d pay Delilah for her services with her money. However, I did not know if Madame Giry was thinking of the wages at her era, where workers got paid close to nothing and were content. If that was the case, then if Delilah stayed for three days or so, her services would only earn her a pound or scantly a pound. I laughed at the thought of her going to collect her pay and only receiving two pounds from Madame Giry. I laughed, but I knew Erik would have Delilah paid the amount she wanted, so it didn’t matter how much Madame Giry paid her out of pocket.

“ Delilah, you have known this house for how long and you still mistake a number of rooms for my office?” Ciel said, shooting her a glance.

“ Sorry, Ciel! I’m forgetful sometimes.” She said, “ and hi Nico.”

“ What? Oh, hi Delilah.” Nico had been zoned out.

“ How are you and Ciel after all that demigod stuff?” She said, “ the room was so silent.”

“ Is that why you came, Delilah? To check on me? Rest assured Sebastian can do that.”

“ There’s some bad slayers around, Ciel.”

“ Considering you incapacitated them with a bread-pan I believe you’ll be fine.” Ciel straightened out the pile of papers he was reading. Ciel liked to be organized.

“ How do you know about the bread pan?”

“ How did you find a bread pan in the living room of your home?” Ciel said, “ Dante came in here and told Nico and I about the situation.”

“ Oh, yeah, him being a psychic and all that stuff.”

“ He hasn’t told me he could see the future.” Said Nico, “ or maybe he can and just doesn’t want to tell me. How did you find a bread pan in your living room?”

“ I like eating bread in the living room-don’t judge me!” Delilah said, “ that stupid baker boy brought it over.”

“ As in Will, the one precariously with the same name as the Grim Reaper?”

“ Yes.” Said Delilah, “ and he’s not a Grim Reaper!”

“ I know.” Said Ciel, and she shook her head and left.

" Mr. Erik!" She called out into the hallway. I turned to him, and he was smiling.

" That is my cue." He said, rising up and then quickly walking out.


	16. The Unexpected Way

***

 _What exactly had I been thinking when I made Ciel my boyfriend?_ I thought, listening to the rain on the windows. _He is handsome and he caught my eye. You love him, too. Why are you even thinking about this right now? Oh, right. Percy. You still miss Percy. You can never forget him, him and that perfect dark brown hair, the green eyes deep as the sea…how he made you feel. What attracted you to Ciel? His looks, that much is certain. And, that look. You knew he knew pain, perhaps more pain than you ever could experience. That was what brought you to him, what lured you in. Those red eyes and that calm, sometimes monotonous British voice. We have a lot in common, Ciel._ I attempted to close my eyes, and somehow fell asleep for the first time ever sense I’d awoken as a vampire.

_“ I take it you know, Dionysus, that Nico di Angelo is indeed alive.” Chiron poked at the fire in the fireplace, moving a few of the logs with the poker. They sizzled and popped for a second or two. What really disturbed me was how vivid the dream was. There was silence in which I noticed the rain pouring down._

_“ I know.” Said Dionysus bored, “ but what are you going to do? Hades just doesn’t trust us.”_

_“ Yet he put him in the care of demons, a vampire, and 2 lycanthropes.” Said Chiron, “ that is like a death sentence. When Nico coped with this, Hades ordered the French slaying Earl to make him and his brother a vampire.”  I swear I could even feel the fire's warmth._

_“_ _Gods send their kids into death traps whether they want to or not, Chiron. It is the way of things.” Said Dionysus, “ he’s coping well. Him and that British demon Earl though…would have never guessed it.”  
“ It isn’t that Hades sent him to his death that irks me deeply…it is how he let them sentence those who closed Tartarus to death.” Said Chiron, “ everyone in this camp including from Camp Jupiter are calling Hades a traitor for letting the Earls attempt to kill him, and because of Nico’s death. That is, the people who know the Earls exist.”_

_“ Nico’s a vampire.” Said Dionysus, “ though that is better left unknown. I don’t want angry little demon brats and their pre-Nyx era old butlers coming here.”_

_“ The demon butlers are under contracts, correct?”_

_“ Yes, Chiron.”_

_“ What if they lash out and kill all of them?”_

_“_ _Less problems for us.”_

_The scene switched to the arena at night. In the rain, Mrs. O’Leary sniffed the air and howled as though she knew my presence was there. Seeing the arena, the Camp, it made me feel homesick. Even though I never belonged there, I never knew how much I would miss it. “ I’m home.” I said into the darkness, and Mrs. O’Leary barked louder. My dream self walked over to her, petting her. She recoiled at my touch for a moment before realizing it was me. “ Yeah, I’m different now.” I buried my face in her fur. It was like I was standing there in person, it didn't feel like a dream. I even felt the cold that was uncommon this time of year and the rain coming down on me drop by drop._

_“ Nico?” I heard Percy say as he walked into the arena with a panda umbrella that a store-owner from Camp Jupiter gave him as an apology for Octavian, who had sacrificed his stuffed pillow-pet panda. He couldn’t see me, could he? Percy shook his head and pet Mrs. O’Leary. “ He’s gone, Mrs. O’Leary.” She whimpered, as though to say that I was there. “ I know, I know.” He misinterpreted the whimpering. “ It felt like he was here, didn’t it? I don’t know…it still feels like he’s here, watching us like he used too.” Percy’s sea green eyes, those beautiful eyes, held such a sad gleam to them. I felt a lot of pain in the acknowledgement that he actually missed me._

_“ Hey Seaweed Brain? What are you up to this late at night?” Annabeth walked into the arena, her smile vanishing when she saw the look on Percy’s face. She looked around. “ Nico.” She whispered, then she ran over to us, then the dream changed again._

_Ciel sat in his office. It was dark, and he’d fallen asleep leaned over on his desk. In the deeper shade of the shadows, I could see a shadow of Sebastian pacing around the office, looking at his pocket watch. Does he ever sleep? I wondered before I saw the shadow's direction switch towards Ciel. Then he came into my full view, picking Ciel up. “ Ah, Young Master.” He said with a slight tone of laughter to his voice. My dream followed Sebastian as he carried Ciel to his room, and it occurred to me that I had absolutely no idea where Ciel’s room was until now. Sebastian opened the door, tucking Ciel in and closing the curtains on his bed. Then he left, my dream following him. He looked at his watch. “ Almost time to follow my orders.” Sebastian walked at a more hurried pace, and I wondered what his order was. My dream didn’t follow him long enough to find out, because this time it faded to black._

        “ Master Nico, it is time for you to wake up.” Sebastian’s voice woke me up once again. His smile was almost frigid that morning, and I shivered not completely because my blankets had fallen from my shoulders.

“ Good morning, Sebastian.” I said, getting up out of bed. He nodded pleasantly and left, and I sat on the side of my bed for a few seconds, thinking about my dream. I got dressed and headed down to breakfast like every other morning.

       Breakfast had a different atmosphere to it that morning. No one talked whatsoever. Dante looked confused, but everyone else looked like they knew why there was silence. “ What’s going on?” I whispered to L, “ is something wrong?” I was with Ciel the entire day prior, when had he given Sebastian an order? “ L?” He did not respond to me, and I sighed. Dante perked up, and then had the same knowing look in his eyes. “ What happened?” I said louder, and no one answered. “ Tell me.”

“ Uh-”

“ Hush, my little psychic.” Alois said putting his pointer finger to Dante's lips, “ some is left better unknown.”

“ Agreed, should’ve never even thought of it.” Alois lowered his hand and Dante smiled, his eyes still holding that insane gleam.

“ Dante can’t see the future, can he?” I asked Alois, “ I know he can read minds and do stuff like that but-”

“ Dante can see the future. The case of our silence is now in the past.” Said Alois, “ and frankly, I’m quite happy.”

“ What happened?” I said, “ is, is someone dead?” At this point, I wouldn’t have been surprised. But then I remembered Sebastian in my dream. What if he had killed the person mentioned by order of Ciel, an order that I somehow was not aware of? Could I ever bring myself to forgive him? I was so close on giving up on Ciel when he stabbed Percy, but it wasn’t Ciel who would have done it if it was Sebastian’s order. _Wait, would it still be Ciel’s fault?_ It flung my mind into bit of a controversy, at which the losing half screamed that I was an idiot for loving Ciel in the first place, and I should have known something like this would happen. The thought of _what even attracts me to Ciel_ rolled across my mind again. It finally hit me. _You love him because parts of him remind you of yourself, and the other parts of him (really most parts of him) are entirely different from you. His darkness…he seems to understand you completely. Wait a second…that’s what you wanted. You wanted someone to accept you, to understand you. Ciel does that, Ciel does all of that. You have reasons to love him._  Alois and Dante left the table shortly after I asked my question, and I figured no one would, not even L who was a detective.

       I followed Ciel to his office, figuring that eventually he would tell me his answer. We sat in the office in silence again. I quite enjoyed silence, but for some reason it seemed more empty now. “ Who or what happened?”

“ Chiron has discovered the lie.”

“ And?”

“ He will more than likely tell Jackson, who will search for you.” Said Ciel, and I noticed today on his desk he had a checkerboard, fully set up like someone else was going to play. He fingered the pawn of the knight, then placed it back down. He took a King piece off the board. I was confused as to what he was doing, but then I realized, as a demon, this was more like a game to Ciel. Even if he did love me (which remained debatable in my mind) this entire ordeal was like a life or death _game_ for Ciel. “ Children take their games very seriously. They are stubborn and hate to lose. They might even cheat in order to obtain their goal.” Ciel straightened in his chair. I sat in the chair in front of Ciel's desk. I had to decide what side I was on. “ I have to play your demigod games now, Nico.”

“ I’m on your side, Ciel.” I said, “ I don’t see how I can’t be.”

“ You’re a valuable pawn, losing you is not an option.” Ciel picked up the second pawn of the dark King, which had been taken completely off of the board. The second King was me, so who was the other dark King? I stared up at Ciel, I saw it now. He was the King.

“ Long live the King.” I said, smiling faintly at him. I thought for a moment I saw him smile too.

“ That’s it, Master Nico, you have it now.” Sebastian said quietly.

“ Though, I don’t think Percy’s going to come after us, or Chiron isn’t going to tell him.” I said, “ I had a dream last night, Ciel.”

“ And, I take it this dream is how you’ve come to the first conclusion?”

“ Yes.” I admitted, careful not to tell him I saw Sebastian in my dream. Though I wished I could ask what the order Ciel gave Sebastian was, I stayed silent.

“ Well, if he talked of it, who did he tell?”

“ Dionysus. They’re all thinking Hades is a traitor for letting me die and because the Earls tried to execute Percy.” I said, “ This is all a mess, Ciel.”

“ To you, perhaps it is. I believe they are merely fussing over this because they have no bigger problems to solve. Think, with Gaea gone and the Titans like Kronos vanquished, they have no bigger problems to solve.” Ciel took a sip of tea. “ We have no idea what will happen in the future.”

“ We can only hope they’ll forget about me.” I said, true it still sounded horrible, but it was what I’d wanted. When I looked back in the past that was always what I’d wanted. I did not belong with the demigods, I just didn’t fit in. I wanted to fade out, I wanted them to just forget that I existed. I was getting my wish now, so why did it seem so bad? My mind had twisted, but the more and more I thought things over the less horrible they seemed. _This is exactly where I’m supposed to be._

        I walked out of Ciel’s office, and sat in the living room downstairs. Erik walked past, and looked in at me. “ Hey Erik.” I said, “ come in.” Erik walked into the living room and sat in a chair. The chair he sat in looked almost to small for him. “ How tall are you?”

“ 7 feet.” Erik said, I never noticed that he was taller than Sebastian, but looking at him I noted he must have towered over Sebastian. “ I am not only the eldest looking Earl but the tallest one in the house.”

“ It must be kind of hard, being that tall.” I said, and he shrugged.

“ I got used of it.” He said, looking around the room.

“ Do you have a girlfriend?” I asked, I didn’t really know, but I assumed not.

“ No, I don’t, and I’m not looking for one.” Said Erik, “ I’m perfectly happy here, though. I am not lonely.” He laughed. “ I remember when I first came, Prince Soma feared me and often would speak to me only while hiding behind Agni. He got used to me two years after I arrived.”

“ _Don Juan Triumphant,_ that was your best piece, right?” I said and he nodded. “ What happened to it?”

“ It burned, Nico.” Said Erik forlornly, “ that night in the opera house. All my hard work was burned within an hour or so. I tried to reproduce it but it just did not sound like it did when I was composing it. I’ve made several operas and sold them to high end producers since then, and so far those have been rather successful.”

“ I thought you’d want to see your work until the end, Erik.” I said, and he shook his head.

“ No, Nico, I’m not fit to do that. In a way, I am merely too odd to even see my own works. It is better for others to take the credit, though they give me portions of the money they earn.” Erik said, “ I do slip into the theatres every now and then, sometimes someone will go with me.”

“ Wait, so did you make the musical ‘Phantom of the-”

“ No.” Erik said, “ the musical was made completely without my interference surprisingly.”

“ Have you seen it?”

“ Yes, and I have to say for the most part none of the actors look like me.”

“ Yes, I don’t think anyone can properly pull of looking like you.” I said, “ you're very distinct, and I mean that in a good way.”

“ Thank you.” Said Erik, “ even if that was meant to insult me, I’ve gone completely numb to insults long ago, so it's better you don't waste your energy trying.” I looked back, and I had confused feelings towards Erik. True, he was forced to make me a vampire, but I still held some feeling toward that. Whether it was negative or positive, I didn't know. 

I looked around the room. “ So, you and Soma were the first ones here?”

“ Yes.” Said Erik, “ Ciel and Alois came on the exact same day at the exact same time. I trust you know that they fought harder than cats and dogs, so I had to quiet them.”

“ Your music can warp the mind.” I said with a nod. “ I was told that the first night I got here, as well as that you used that power to stop them from fighting.”

“ I regret nothing.” Said Erik, “ you didn’t see the first two months with them in the house before that. Ugh, _mon Dieu_ , it was like putting two starving, bloodthirsty wolves together in a pin! I honestly thought someone was going to die in the constant conflict.”

“ Well, it’s better now.” Soma walked into the room and sat next to me. “ It was so empty and lonely here with just Agni. It feels so much better now.” He smiled, “ now, why don’t we get some curry? Agni made some for lunch.” He got up and ran off. I followed him into the dining room.

       The atmosphere had changed greatly from the morning and was back to it’s old self. I sat down next to Dante, who seemed in a good mood. Delilah laid a plate with a bread in front of me.

“ I thought Soma said Agni made curry.” I said to her, and she smiled.

“ It’s curry bread!” She chirped, and went off.

“ What?” Said Dante, eyeing it. He picked it up and took a bite. “ Yum, try it Nico it’s really good!” He smiled at me and I picked it up, finding it was delicious, better than any of the curries I’d ever had. I ate it quickly, then left the table. Something about it brought me into a good mood.

    The faint sound of laughter came from behind me as Luka came up from behind me. He grabbed my hand, and looked up at me. “ Your so lonely, Nico! Come and talk with us!” He dragged me into a living room. It was purple with black furniture, and on a black couch sat Alois and Dante. Claude stood by the couch, and Luka let go of my hand, sitting in a light purple large recliner. Hannah appeared next to that chair, and I walked into the room more cautiously. I sat next to Dante, who leaned back in the couch.

“ It’s so rainy today.” Dante looked towards the window, and I noticed the rain outside through the translucent black curtains. “ I wanted to go into town today, too.”

“ So did I.” Alois said, “ maybe Zeus is angry.” A lightning bolt flashed, and Alois chuckled. “ Good thing we have a lightning rod on the roof!”

“ He could still hit the house.” Said Luka, “ but why waste all that energy on us? We're just a bunch of demons after all.”

“ Doesn’t he have anything better to do?” Alois sighed, “ the rain makes everything so boring and dark.” A roar of thunder and then lightning came down after he said that. 

“ I always kind of liked the rain.” I said with a shrug, “ I like the dark.”

“ It does make everyone be consumed by the darkness.” Said Alois, “ I wonder if it’s raining in Demigod Camp or something.”

“ Camp Half-Blood.” I corrected, and he shrugged.

“ What does it matter to me?” Said Alois, “ it’s not as if they’re going to come after me. Sure, they’ll come after you, Ciel, but not me!" He smiled at nothing. " Dante’s a vampire, and they have no idea who he is. Why would Percy Jackson go after someone who he doesn’t even know exists?”

“ You have a point.” I said, “ but if they find me-”

“ They find me.” Said Dante, “ and if they find me they’ll kill me because they don't know me.”

“ What makes you so sure of that?” I said, “ There’s a possibility-”

Dante laughed. “ They’d never want me, no one did before and they certainly wouldn’t want me now because I’m a vampire, Nico!” He tried to stop himself from laughing, even though I didn’t think it was that funny. “ Everyone…they should all just get swallowed by the darkness. It’s a hell of a lot easier.” He pulled himself together, but there was still a faint smirk lying on his mouth. I didn’t know how to respond to what he’d said.

“ The darkness isn’t everyone’s path, Dante, even though it is ours.” I said, “ there needs to be a balance, I guess, of dark and light. Maybe the dark path isn’t as easy as you think it is.”

“ Perhaps you are right, perhaps you are wrong. You could be right in an alternate universe, you could be wrong in an alternate universe. In this universe even we do not know for certain, so it is all left up to opinion. All realities are different, my reality being different from your’s, Alois’s, Claude’s…even if we think it, nothing is certain.” Dante looked outside in the rain. “ I wonder if it is raining in Camp Half-Blood. Probably not, considering we are in two entirely different hemispheres.”

      “ What is it like there, anyways?” Said Luka, “ I only assumed it was bad there because of what all the other older Earls said.”

“ It’s not bad there at all, well except for Clarisse who has this tradition where she dunks your head in a toilet.” I said, and Alois laughed.

“ I can imagine that happening to Ciel.” Alois laughed more. “ What did he do after that?”

“ Well, he had Sebastian hang Clarisse’s clothes on the flag-pole so she paraded the camp in her pajamas.” The three of them laughed.

“ Is there monsters there?” Luka said more seriously, “ and do you kill them?”

“ Only if they attack us.” I said, “ we train to fight things.”

“ Can you hack a person’s limb off?”

“ No, or at least I don’t think. Though in Camp Jupiter, it's a definite maybe.”

“ Must be brutal there.”

“ No, not really.”

“ Is the food better here?” Luka said, looking over to Claude. He pushed his glasses up, and I knew I had to answer it positively.

“ Yes, it is.” I said, “ actually it’s much better.”

“ What do you suspect, Luka?” Alois said, “ they run around like ruffians all day of course they don’t pay attention to meals.”

“ We don’t just fight, you know.” I said, “ we do other things.”

“ I can imagine you wouldn’t do much there, being a son of Hades you must be the odd one out.” Said Alois, “ I have to say, I don’t think sons and daughters of Hades belong there. You just don’t fit in.” Alois shrugged, “ did you want to leave there?”

“ Yes.” I said, “ I wanted to leave and never associate myself with them again. I wanted to fade out.”

“ There you go, you have your wish now!” Said Alois, smiling at me.

“ We both got what we wanted, Nico. Perhaps not in the way we planned, but we did nevertheless.” He smiled at me, his grin revealing his vampire fangs.


	17. Mademoiselle Anonymous

        I went to my room after I started feeling weak. I noticed that my fangs had grown longer and were more prominent. I eyed them in my mirror, and touched the bottom of one of my fangs. I cut my finger, and my eyes changed color when I tasted my own blood. There was a knock on my door and I opened it. Ciel stood there, and I noticed Sebastian wasn’t behind him. “You’ll need to feed tonight.” Ciel said, looking at my mouth. “You’re going to waste away if you prolong getting blood tonight.”

“I know, Ciel.” I said, quietly. I gave him a hug, mostly because I didn’t want to have to feed again, and Ciel gave me comfort in his own odd way. He looked around for a second, and then kissed me. He pulled away after a while, right as Sebastian came in the hall. I was still holding onto Ciel; Sebastian smiled at us, and then looked down at his pocket-watch.

“Time for dinner.” He said, “However I can postpone it an hour or two if you need time.” He chuckled softly, “maybe three if it’s not on the dishes yet.” Ciel blushed, and then looked a little angry before calming down and sighing.

“No, Sebastian, that won’t be necessary.” Sebastian continued to walk down the hall, and I felt embarrassed.

“ Sorry?” I said to Ciel, and he shook his head.

“ Do not worry about it, Sebastian won’t speak of it to anyone.” Said Ciel, “ he’s just like that sometimes.”

“ Okay.” I said, grabbing his hand. “ Let’s go to dinner, shall we?” He didn’t pull away, and gripped my hand.

“ We shall.”

***

      Considering I had my meal of blood a few weeks prior, I was going more so as a guard. Sebastian and Claude were going to get meals of their own (by order of their masters who decided if they did not let their butlers have a soul or two they’d waste away.) I told them I would guard their masters sense they’d be in the same vicinity, and then I found myself forced to drive the car.

     Once we stopped in a poor section of a town, I parked the car and locked it. Alois and Dante ran off like two giddy lovers, while Nico and Ciel walked more slowly. “ What are you going to do, Erik?” Nico asked me, “ You already got your meal, right?”

“ Yes.” I said, “ I don’t know what I’ll do, perhaps I’ll just wait.”

Nico nodded and he and Ciel went into the alley.

       I walked around the streets, and sat next to a girl on the bench. She was obviously homeless, and she looked cold. She was very pretty, however. Her black hair framed her face, and her blue eyes looked me up and down as I sat. She blinked at me for a few seconds before turning. “ You should get out of this neighborhood.” She said, “ You're rich, someone might hurt you.”

“ Oh, I don’t think so Mademoiselle.” I said, she looked around 21, either that or the flickering streetlamp made her look that old. She didn’t have an English accent, so I wondered how she got there. “ It’s not good to talk to strange man like me either.”

“ That’s the thing. You’re so strange that I know you won’t hurt me. You’ll be easy to find.” She said, something about her suddenly reminded me of L.

“ You have a point.” I said, “ You remind me of a friend of mine.”

“ I like meeting people who remind me of other people.” She smiled softly, and looked over to me. “ I don’t know who you remind me of.”

“ I’m very distinct, or so I’ve been told.”

“ What do you think of yourself, Erik?” There was a short silence, as I did not know how she knew my name. “ I did it again, I’m sorry. I let things slip when I’m happy, as you can see I don't talk to people often.”

“ You’re a psychic?”

“ Yes.”

“ I know a psychic. He’s younger than you, how old are you?”

“ 21.”

“ That’s how old I am.”

“ Really?” She said, “ you're not the weirdest person I’ve ever met I guess.”

“ Dear, I would be if I took off this mask.” I said and she laughed, shaking her head. Something about her made me happy. “ And what is your name?”

“ What is the use of telling you?”

“ Well, if there was ever a time you ended up at the city morgue, I could identify you.” I smiled, and she laughed.

“ Hm, I’ll think about it.” She said, just as I heard Dante knocking on the car door, the symbol everyone had finished dinner.

“ Same time, tomorrow?” I checked my watch.

“ Sounds alright, Erik.” She said, the faint smile vanishing. I got up.

“ Good bye, Ms. Anonymous.”

“ _Au revoir_!”

          “ So, who was she?” Alois said, “ Beautiful, ugly, your dinner?”

“ Just a girl, around my physical age.” I said, “ I’m meeting her again tomorrow.”

“ Be careful she’s not a gold-digger.” Said Nico, “ in this neighborhood you can’t be sure.”

“ In her predicament, I think she just needs someone to talk too.” I said, “ She’s not scared of me.”

“ That’s good enough!” Said Luka, “ must be mad! But, mad people are the best kind, so why not?”

“ You have a point, Luka.” I said, not even realizing he’d come along until then. Luka looked a little tired, or as tired as a demonic seven year old could look.

       When we hit traffic, I shadow-traveled us home. Using a car to shadow-travel was usually arcane, but I knew Dante and Nico didn’t quite have the stomachs for “speed demon” mode, so I decided it was better to use shadow traveling. Upon our arrival, Sebastian opened the car doors and everyone got out of the car.

***

        “ I know something you don’t know!” I mused to Delilah. I leaned on the table until I was hanging off it upside-down. I smiled, watching her reaction from upside-down.

“ Well, you’re not creepy at all.” She said sarcastically.

“ No, love, everyone sees things differently. However I still don’t know your opinion on one thing.” I smiled at her, and she backed away slowly.

“ Fine,” she sighed, “ tell me.”

“ Erik met a woman last night.”

“ And? His social life doesn’t concern me.”

“ Oh, but he’s meeting her tonight too.”

“ I don’t care.” She sprayed me nonchalantly with the cleaner and then wiped the table around me.

“ Alright.” I got off the table and went to Alois, skipping down the hall.

***

       “ Madame Giry is it true Mr. Erik has a lady friend?”

“ I believe so, but I wouldn’t worry. The women all run away in fear once the mask comes off.” I said as she handed me the cleaner. “ Why would you care?”

“ I don’t!” Delilah said, “ That creepy psychic vampire told me.”

“ You mean Dante?” I said, and she nodded.

“ I guess that’s his name. He reminds me of something.”

“ Ah? And what would that be?”

“ That cat from Alice in Wonderland.”

“ The Cheshire Cat?” I said, and she nodded. “ Ah yes, Dante is quite mad. Bad things have happened to him, Delilah, horrible things.”

“ Horrible things have happened to me too, Madame Giry, but you don’t see me taunting people while lying upside-down on table tops!”

“ He’s just different, I guess.” I said, “ You had friends, and Dante only had death and dead people. His Mother was killed before his eyes, and then her spirit disappeared. Bad things that have happened to you have happened to Dante in different ways. However, I feel your lives are equally bad. And don’t be so quick to judge, you have your own little quirks like bursting out into that God-awful little song.”

“ You mean this one? S-U-G-A-R-”

“ SHUT THE BLOODY HELL UP!” Alois popped out of nowhere with a machete, surprising her. Then he disappeared in a burst of flame without hurting her.

“ I think that was a sufficient warning.” I said with a slow nod. I knelt down and began to clean the large charred spot he’d left. You people may think bursting into flames and disappearing is cool, but it isn’t worth the cleaning of the charred spot you left behind. Delilah was gone when I turned back around. I sighed, she managed her way out of work yet again.

***

      “ How are you tonight, Mademoiselle Anonymous?” I said to her, sitting down.

“ Not so well, Erik.” I noticed her knees were scraped. “ I fell by the railroad tracks.”

“ Pretty nasty scrapes for falling beside the railroad tracks.” I said, “ How did a lovely young girl like you end up on the streets?”

“ I’m older than I seem, just like you.” She said, “ I’ve been this way for a while and trust me, Erik, I want that to change.”

“ Why don’t you come to stay with me, Mademoiselle Anonymous?” I said, “ I can give you shelter, my house is big enough.”

“ It sounds tempting…” She stayed silent for a few moments. “ I’ll take you up on that offer. I must warn you, however. My Father is a very sought after man, and people seek me because I love my Father and he loves me. Because of this I must always be moving, I can never settle, so I can never find work or establish myself…it is why I am this way.”

“ Nothing can scare me off, Mademoiselle Anonymous. You will find this out for better or for worse. You may find out in time it is not, perhaps, what you would want.” I said, “ You may see things in this mind that will make you want to leave me.”

“ Bring it on.” She said, smiling as though I had challenged her.

***

       “ _Mon Dieu_ Erik!” Madame Giry said, “ you are inviting this woman into our home and you do not even know her name?!”

“ I think that’s a fun idea!” Said Alois from the living room. In it was the Earls and Half Bloods of the house, where I planned to have them meet Mademoiselle Anonymous. “ How do you do, Ms. Stranger?”

“ Well, I suppose.” Mademoiselle Anonymous, looking around the room.

“ What is your name?” Soma said, and she turned to him.

“ Why would you care?”

“ Oh, your one of those.” He sighed, “ What should we call you, then?”

“ I liked being called Mademoiselle Anonymous.” She smiled at me, then sat next to Soma. “ For now, that term of address will be just fine.”

Ciel looked her up and down. “ Sebastian, go get some of the women’s clothes from upstairs.” He bowed slightly and went off to get them.

“ Why would you have women’s clothes lying around the house?” She asked, “ Seems a little odd for you to have a girlfriend my age.”

“ No, he has a boyfriend.” Luka said, “ And so does Alois. It’s just sometimes after parties the women will sleep upstairs because they're too drunk to get home properly. Their servants bring a change of clothes for them in the morning, and then they, in their more than likely hung over state, forget their dress from the night before. Same goes for the men. We have a few dresses sense we hold a few parties and balls here annually. You should see Aleister, he probably has an entire walk-in closet full of them!”

“ Yes, we should give him a call.” Said Alois, “ he may have a few dresses your size. Then, after it is certain your staying, we can call the seamstress.”

“ Sounds like a good plan to me.” Said Mademoiselle Anonymous, “ I think I might stay here, however. It’s a nice place, really, and Erik made it sound much smaller than this.”

“ Well, once you learn a certain amount of things, we can’t really let you leave.” Said Alois, “ so he probably tried to talk you out of it.” He looked over to me and patted my arm. " You unfortunate, sad, tall vampire, you." 

“ There are already things I shouldn’t know that I do, Lord Macken.” She said to Alois, who turned away. “ My sympathies.” She surveyed the ceiling with her eyes. “ My, my, you people do not have happy lives do you? I suppose that is to be expected in your cases however.”

“ Yay! In telepathy I am not alone!” Dante said, “ This is going to be fun.” Two cups of tea floated in the air, one going to Dante and the other going to Mademoiselle Anonymous. After taking a cautious sip of the tea, she looked up at Dante.

“ It is nice to have someone with similar qualities around so I do not have to explain things.” She said, a slight smile curling on her lips. “ However, in this house, many things do not have to be explained. I have met neither demons nor vampires before, also I have not met werewolves. How interesting this will be.”

“ Oh, that’s your name.” Dante smiled, “ I won’t say what it is, Mademoiselle Anonymous.” He winked at her.

“ And a drawback of having a telepath.”

She sighed, then Dante tilted his head. “ Wait, you know parts of the future?”

“ Bits and pieces, yes.” Mademoiselle Anonymous said, “ We’re more alike than we seem.”

“ Indeed.” Said Dante, “ it’s almost scary.” There were a few seconds of awkward silence. “ Man, imagine how many things we can cause.” Dante smiled evilly, just as Delilah peaked in the doorway.

      “ Who’s this lady?” She said, “ Is she the lady you were talking about?”

“ I happen to be, Delilah.” She said, and Delilah tilted her head curiously, then shrugged. “ Call me Mademoiselle Anonymous for now.”

“ Okay then.” She said, “ You don’t seem French.”

“ No I am not, but I met Erik first, and that is what he calls me. Sense he is the oldest of the Earls and this is kind of a first-come-first-serve kind of thing, I will go with the name he decided to call me. It’s really more of a nickname sense I do not wish for my name to be exposed, for what is the use at this time?”

“ Actually, it would be very useful right now.” Said Dante with a nod, and she shook her head. “ Why do you fear giving out your name?”

“ Hush you.” Mademoiselle Anonymous said to Dante, and he raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“ Oh.” He said, “ Yes, I see that as a validated reason.” I looked over to Delilah in the corner.

“ Where is Seb-” he appeared with at least 20 dresses. Mademoiselle Anonymous’s eyes glittered.

“ May I?” She walked over to him, took the dresses, and went off. I figured sense she’d read our minds, she knew where to go.

***

          “ Sebastian, I want you to find the true name of this ‘Mademoiselle Anonymous.” I said, hoping she wasn’t paying attention to me or Nico.

“ I’ve tried.” Said Sebastian, “ I took so long with those dresses when they were only two stairwells away because I was looking into her past. It took me less than 20 minutes. There is records of her, Master.” He laid the folder on my desk, and I quickly opened them and began reading the reports.

“ Sebastian, these are all-”

“ Police files. You’ll find she was victim to many things, and has done her fair share as well.” Said Sebastian as I eyed each report.

“ Can I see them when you’re done?” Nico said, and I nodded.

“ Yes.” I said, it was really no surprise she was a victim to a number of assaults, all of different natures and all done by different people. It ranged back from when she was a young, young girl to the last evening when she'd broken into a bakery for food. “ She murdered some.” I noted, “ I can’t say that I wouldn’t have ordered you to do similar things if I was caught in such matters.”

“ Indeed.” Said Sebastian, “ however, knowing events that may trigger pain may be useful in the future. You never know when we may need that.”

“ Yes.” I said with a nod, “ very useful.”

         After skimming each report, I gave the packet to Nico. “ So, her name is-” The door opened and there she stood. At first, she looked murderous, but then she composed herself. She walked in, took the folder and promptly walked out, slamming the door behind her. “ You think she’s going to do anything?”

“ Burn them.” I said, “ That is the most natural instinct when coming across something you despise that is paper.”

“ True,” said Nico, “ when I was younger, I played this game called Mythomagic and loved it a lot. I mourned my old life and my sister so hard that I burned all the cards.”

“ How horrible the feeling is when you hate something you once used to love.”

“ Indeed.”


	18. Siblings Unknown

     “ Bianca.” Nico whispered her name, then fell silent for a few minutes. “ She would hate me so much now.”

“ Yes.” I said, “ She was a Hunter of Artemis, skilled in killing monsters like you. Hades forbids Erik to kill any of the Hunters of Artemis unless it is a special order. Really, if Hades orders for a Hunter to be killed, that moment is comparable to pressing a detonator that would wipe out everyone in our world.”

“ But Bianca died anyways.” Nico said, “ at least a monster didn’t kill her. That would have made me feel even worse than I had.”

“ Say whatever you wish, Nico, but I still do not believe you’ve fully gotten over this.” I said, “ And you don’t have to.”

“ What?”

“ Nico, hate and revenge were the only parts of my existence in my human life. I could never let them go, if I did, I would be nothing. They made me.” I said, “ They will forever be a part of me.”

“ Revenge…hatred… fatal flaws of the sons of Hades.” Nico said, “ I don’t care anymore. Prophecies, fights that I‘d picked…suddenly I don’t care about them.”

“ It’s normal.” I said, “ Things change when you’re a monster. You have only began your second month of being here in general, and in even less than that you‘ve been a vampire.”

“ Speaking of which, do you guys celebrate Halloween?”

“ Yes,” I said having no idea where he got these things from, “ I’ve already gotten several invitations to events. That is when I plan to show you to the Earls.”

“ Because by then, things should have smoothed over.” Nico said, “ That seems reasonable enough.”

“ Though it’s not definite yet, Nico, they could still be angered.” I said, “ in that case I will have to go without you.”

“ What about Dante and L?”

“ They’ve already went to a few; you haven't seen them because they're usually at night. It’s just you they’re angered with. This is because Dante and L were introduced as vampire sons of Hades and you were introduced as the demigod son of Hades, and it was you and the demigods who-”

“ Do they know I’m a vampire now?”

“ Yes, but that was introduced second, so they still associate you more with your demigod side. Before this, people knew you as a demigod who had scorned and ruined nearly all of what we held close to ourselves about death. At the point you closed Tartarus, you weren't quite personally in the affairs of the Earls, yet you had damned us all. With the knowledge you were a demigod who completely damned us, the bitterness grew stronger when you were put into our affairs.”

“ Erik should have bitten me earlier is what your saying.” Nico said, shifting uncomfortably, “ but it was my fault because I wanted to go to Camp to meet Percy.”

“ No, it was your Father’s timing that was off.” I said, “ He planned this too quickly and too late. Sebastian and the other servants only had a day to prepare for your arrival; by the time that damage was done to your reputation due to news spreading, it was too late to cover it by making you a vampire, but Hades ordered it anyways. Erik followed his orders as quickly as his mind could comprehend them, as well as the guilt that came with it.”

“ Did you have a feeling, Ciel, that this was going to happen?” He looked away from me as though he wanted me to not see the lack of regret that was on his face.

“ Yes.” I said, “ however, not everything is going according to what I first believed. This relationship, for example. It is going better than I first thought it would go.”

“ I was thinking the same.” Nico smiled faintly, “ all the better for you, I guess, I mean you’re the one who gets the prestige in it.”

“ I really don’t care about that, Nico. Usually I would, however at this time I do not.” I admitted, I did not know why that was. Perhaps it was because after becoming a demon, I wanted to merge with the shadows to be noticed and not to be noticed. I had my honor, after all, my vengeance as well. Even though in secret I did not want to admit, death was the perfect end, as well as Sebastian’s payment. However, that did not happen. I remained alive, not having a purpose. When Hades had made me an Earl, he sent me on missions and gave me tasks to complete, yet I still did not feel whole like I had at the end of my vengeance. The part of me that was revenge and hatred had been cut away from me for my goal was completed and there was nothing to fill the space they had left. I had very little to me except memories of when I had been whole and the faint inklings of revenge and hatred that refused to fade. Suddenly, when Nico came, for some reason I was starting to feel whole again. Something that had once been filled with revenge and hatred was filling with something else which I did not know how to react too, as my soullessness conflicted it yet there it was. It was hard to describe what it was.

“ You’ll probably care when you get popular.” Nico said, “ just don’t forget I’m the reason why you are, okay?”

“ I can’t forget about you.” I said, “Remembering you, being with you, that is what Hades ordered. I will not leave my tasks unfinished.”

“ Yeah, but I’m your task for eternity.” He said, “There’s more of a chance-”

“ Nico, how am I to forget you if not only do I date you but you are constantly here? Why don’t we be rational about this.” I said, and he sighed.

“ I didn’t mean forget my existence.” Nico looked up at me with his sad black eyes.

“ I promise I won’t forget, we may even make a pact if that is what it takes.” I said, “ I won’t forget.” He looked very unsure. “ Demons do not tend to lie like humans do.”

“ They only bend the truth.” Nico said, “ Tell what's there and not look at it from the human perspective. That’s why they’re so charismatic, isn’t it?” His eyes glanced to the corner where Sebastian was standing, a faint smile on his pale lips.

“ I suppose.” I said, “ I never found myself too charismatic. I hate too much socializing.”

“ We are really in a similar boat aren’t we?” Nico said, “ Sense you do some of the commanding around here, I’m happy that you are anti-social. That means there won’t be a lot of people around, right?” I snickered. Nico had no idea how many people turned up uninvited, and it would be considered indecent to not let them in. That being said, a red car pulled into the driveway. I sighed, knowing who was in it.

“ Sebastian, go let Grell in.” I said with a sigh, and he nodded, leaving quickly to get the door.

“ Grell…that Grim Reaper we met in London?” I nodded, answering Nico’s question.

***

 

       “ Oh Bassy how lovely to see you again!” Grell hugged me much to my displeasure.

“ Grell, to what do I owe this pleasure?” I said sarcastically.

“ Oh Bassy I knew you wanted to see me!” Grell hugged me tighter so I pushed her away. She blushed, and I walked away. She followed me, the sound of her heels clicking behind me. “ Actually, I was coming to see someone in this home by the name under Anonymity. I have something to tell her, I was instructed too.”

“ By who, exactly?” I shot him a glance. Now the question arose in my mind _what exactly is this Mademoiselle Anonymous?_

“ The person who’s soul I reaped.” Said Grell, walking beside me. “ Usually I wouldn’t grant requests like that seeing it would soak up my free-time if I did every single one, but the person whose soul I reaped was a very particular human. And, sense I knew she was here, I thought I might as well take the time to see Bassy!”

“ She is with Master Erik.” I said, “ And he is in the living room.” I brought Grell into the living room where they were, and she sat down. I left as quickly as possible.

***

     “ Your Father misses you.” Said the Grim Reaper Grell Sutcliff.

“ I know he does, Mr. Sutcliff, but I am foolish if I even try to visit him.” I said, “ even if it was a dying wish, I will not humor it.”

“ My, my how rebellious of you!” Said Mr. Sutcliff, “ it’s a good thing I have a soft-spot for rebels, you know. Any other Grim Reaper would force you to go if they put this much unpaid effort into it, but I say if you don’t want to go you shouldn’t have too.”

“ Thank you.” I said, “ I haven’t had many people in my life who think like that.” I shivered, my past life, I didn’t want to think about it anymore. My life was new, and even though one day I would have to use my name, my life had been restarted.

    Erik had been right, I suppose. No people had come after me yet, and I was getting used to what seemed to be my new home. I was also getting more and more used to Erik, as well as attracted to him. I looked at him, then started eyeing Grell.

“ It’s getting cold, Grell.” Said Erik, “ a sun dress is not the best thing to be wearing, you should get your winter dresses out.”

“ I don’t wear dresses in the winter. I suppose I’m just trying to preserve the long, hot, beautiful days of summer.” Grell sighed, “ but you are right, Erik.”

“ You could take one of the red dresses I have upstairs.” I said, “ it doesn’t fit me properly at the bust, but considering your body, it should fit perfectly. Would you like to have it?”

“ Oh, if you are willing to give it up!" Grell smiled, and I got up.

      When we got into my room, I took the dress from the wardrobe. She surveyed the room. “ It smells nice in here.” She noted, “ Roses and wisteria.”

“ Thank you.” I said, “ I saw a few plants in the hall, and I believed this room was a bit musty, so after I aired it out with a spray I made for it.”

“ Clever!” Said Grell, taking the dress and going into a closet. “ Oh what nice shoes!” She said as he locked to door. I laughed, she seemed like a fun person to be around. When she opened the door, she was in the red dress.

“ It looks lovely on you.” I said, “ And warmer. You can wear it by all means.”

“ Thank you.” Grell smiled at me, revealing shark teeth. “ I won’t forget about this-this is my only winter dress for casual use! I have to go now, unfortunately, souls to reap!” She disappeared completely, and I lay on my bed. Who had died now?

***

      I inspected each of the screens. On one, Mademoiselle Anonymous was taking a nap. On another, Alois, Dante, and Luka were playing a video game. Before that, Alois agreed to let Dante use the last name of “Trancy” or “Macken,” whichever he preferred. In Ciel’s office, Ciel and Nico sat, both of them silent, and Sebastian standing guard in the corner much like Hannah and Claude were in the room where Alois, Dante, and Luka were. Soma was taking a nap too, and Erik was reading a book that was casually left on a table’s small counter. The rest of the servants were walking around, doing usual tasks. It seemed like a normal day in the house, and it probably would be.

     It left me to wonder what had happened to my predecessor, Near. I missed Near and Mello, they meant a lot to me. I’d thought about them many times. I decided to look them up (even though I knew of Mello and Matt's fate,) but before I hit the search, I thought of the consequences. If Near found me, how would they react to the fact I was a vampire? Would he not believe me and think I was just a killer, driven insane by not being able to solve the Kira case? I had always solved my cases, and Kira was the only one I did not solve. It would make sense if I’d gone insane, because I hated to lose especially when I’d worked on a case for so long. However, then again, I couldn’t have faked my death well enough. Death can never really be faked, and flaws in a fake deaths were how I and Near solved some cases. Still, I had died, could they figure that out?

“ L.” Erik came in, looking at the monitors. I hadn’t known he was coming because he walked into a closet and appeared outside of a closet that was in front of my door. My guess was that he had some sort of tunnel system that no one else used but him.

“ Hello Erik.” I said as he handed me a batch of cookies. “ Madame Giry just made them, and she thought that you would enjoy them.” I took the plate from Erik and began to eat a cookie. “ No cases?”

“ No cases.” I said, “ I’m not called on as often as I used to be.”

“ Must be boring for you, then.” Said Erik, “ I have to say I’m not bored lately.”

“ Because of Mademoiselle Anonymous?” I said, “ it’s doesn’t take a genius to see that.”

“ Indeed.” Erik said, “ I quite enjoy her.”

“ She enjoys you too.” I said, “ I’m sure of it. Perhaps she’s even close to giving you her name.”

“ Perhaps.” Erik agreed, “ I do hope that she is, Madame Giry has been annoying me about that.”

“ You have this sort of complex, Erik.” I said, “ it’s an unnamed one. Like Christine, you saw a need for a presence. In Christine’s case, a Father. In Mademoiselle’s case, well, she needed someone to care. Then, time greatly varying, you begin to develop a romantic love. However, I believe what happened with Christine is foreshadowing. You’ll become obsessed the more and more you love her. If you can’t have her, you’ll snap and snap until you get the satisfaction you crave. However, I believe that won’t happen. Mademoiselle seems to be warming up to you, and by the time you love progresses she should love you.”

“ Interesting analogy.” Erik said, “ but DO NOT bring up Christine! How many times must I tell people?”

“ Erik, Christine is a vital part of your past, and your past went into infamy. It is hard not to bring her up. It’s a reflex to go back on what you know.” I said, “ and in this case, what I know can bring me to conclusions.”

“ What else should I suspect from you, a detective also in infamy?” Erik said, “ you have nothing better to do than bring up conclusions on those around you because you are bored. You are right about the reflex of going back to what you know.”

“ Exactly.” I said, “ picking out details and making theories is almost like an addiction to me, really. In a way, it's the only thing I have left from the life I had.” Erik’s eyes were focused on the screen with Mademoiselle Anonymous.

“ She’s so peaceful when she’s asleep.” Erik said, dreamily.

“ Oh, and so it begins.”

***

      They seemed to forget about my brother within a day or so after burning his pyre. At the campfire, the cheerful air that would usually feel welcome felt uncomfortable, almost wrong. Percy persuaded me to stay at Camp Half-Blood a little longer, even though I felt like I needed some time alone in the world. I was right. Even though Percy thought the cheerful essence of the Camp would perk me up it didn’t. Instead, it just sickened me. Nico was dead. I missed him so badly. The person who’d given me a second chance, the person who took care of me sometimes, was now gone forever. Frank could see something was wrong, and no matter how much he tried to cheer me up, I just didn’t feel like myself. He'd decided to stay with me to make sure I was okay, but I wasn't.

      I went to the woods when no one noticed. I liked going in the woods despite the danger, it helped me to think and get away from people. I closed my eyes, until; I heard a voice above me. “ Oh, poor thing.” I looked up to see a boy, sitting in a tree. He looked like Nico slightly. He had a British accent, black hair in one of those half-Mohawk things (I forget what Frank told me they were called,) and blue eyes, framed by black glasses. His smile…there was something wrong with his smile. His eyes too...then seemed dead, but yet they seemed alive with something. “ My name is Dante, Dante Trancy.”

“ Nice to meet you.” I said, bracing myself to fight him. There were no new campers, so he had to be a monster.

“ Now, now, I’ve come to speak with you.”

“ And give me what, a warning of something? Gods damn hasn’t enough happened?” I felt like I was going to cry. “ My brother is dead! Can’t you just leave us alone?”

He looked at me sympathetically. “ I plan on leaving you alone. It’s not good for you to be in the woods by yourself like this. So, I planned to accompany you.” His smile widened, “ I do not plan on forcing you to be happy. You must find happiness yourself, but until then, I might as well stay.”

“ So, you’re like a manifestation of my unhappiness?”

“ Oh hell no, I’m my own creature. Though, there are ties between us Hazel, ties which you do not know, and they call for me to make sure that you are not alone.”

“ So, you’re cursed to be around me?”

“ No.” Dante snickered, “ you make interesting assumptions.”

“ I don’t get why you’re here.” I said, “ or, you're just here for no reason?”

“ No, I have reasons and ties that call me to be here.” Dante slid down the tree trunk and sat with me on the log. Something about him felt familiar, vaguely nice. He looked to the campfire, where the laughter and mirth hadn’t ceased. “ They can’t force you to feel. They’re blind to the fact that they’re trying to, and they try even when they themselves haven’t fully gotten over his death either.”

“ You mean Nico's death.” I said, and Dante nodded.

“ Oh, so many things I know that you don’t.” Dante chuckled, “ so many things.”

“ Like what?” I said, “ are they about Nico?”

“ Yes.” Said Dante, “ what is dead can never die, Hazel.”

“ You mean he’s alive?”

“ Technically, your Nico is dead.”

“ But, his person is alive?”

“ No.”

“ Well, I know that.”

“ No, Hazel, you don’t.”

“ You’re so confusing! Is he alive or not?”

“ It all depends on your definition of alive, Hazel. For instance, I’m alive, your alive, this camp, this forest, everything is alive. But what is 'not alive' in your definition?”

“ Well, that rock is not alive.”

“ Perhaps it is not. But is the moss growing on it alive?”

“ Well, yes.”

“ Then technically the rock and moss are alive. Is a monster alive?”

“ Not if you kill them.”

“ True, very true.” He gave a quiet laugh. “ If a person became a monster, and their life and perspectives changed, is the person before that alive?”

“ Yes.” I said, “ they’ll always have the memories of the person they were before that, and perhaps they still act like that person. Even if they don’t act like that person and everything changes, they have the memories of the person before that.”

“ Exactly!” Dante said, “ both the person and the monster are alive in the monster, even if it is only the monster side of them that shows.”

“ How is this relevant to Nico?” I asked, and his smile vanished.

“ Later, Hazel, I’ll tell you later.”

“ Is Nico a monster?”

“ In good time!”

“ What do I have to do for you to tell me?”

“ Make them think you are feeling better, be an actress. I will see you nightly, exactly at the time we met and no later. If you fail to report I shall not come again.” Dante said, “ and by the end-”

“ What will happen in the end?”

“ I will tell you how that was relevant, and more will happen, however you will discover what that ‘more’ is when it happens.”

“ We have a deal.”

“ The word deal has a lot of power and meaning behind it. A deal, indeed Hazel, a deal indeed.” He disappeared, just as I heard Frank calling my name at the edge of the tree line. I walked to him, and he looked worried.

“ Hazel! What are you doing in the woods?” He asked, “ you know how dangerous that is! Something could have attacked you.”

“ Something.” I said, wondering what exactly the entity I’d just met was. “ Yes, that’s exactly what it was.”


	19. The Subject of A Sister

***

“How’d it go?” I asked Dante as he sat down with me on the couch.

“Very well.” Said Dante, “the deal is in place.”

“ Good.” I said, “ Hades agreed to the deal too. We have to get her acclimated to monsters and such or else she’ll go mad. We almost lost Nico after all. By the way, how did you not get angry when you were turned into a vampire?”

“ My problems before it took me over, and being turned into a vampire was the thing that pushed me over the edge. I did not get angry or sad if that’s an understatement, I went positively mad! I lost my mind, and that is why I did not get hit with the same emotions as Nico.” Dante said, smiling. I loved that smile of his. “ Anyways, the plan in in place now.”

“ Hazel has a clue about Nico?”

“ Yes.”

“ She doesn’t know if it’s true or not?”

“ Yes.”

“ Perfect.”

“ Isn’t she Soma’s responsibility? I’m you and Luka's responsibility, L is Erik’s, Nico is Ciel’s.”

“ Yes, but I decided to give him some help.” I thought about how much Soma was stressing earlier.

      His face was down on the table, and when you asked him what he was doing he’d say, “ I’m thinking.” He stopped once he said I’d helped him, and I nearly lost it when he said “ Good because I have no idea how to go about acclimating Hazel to monsters.”

       Anyways, sense the plan was now in motion I thought that called for a little celebration, which no one else except Dante and Luka agreed too. So we had Claude make us a cake, which we ate before going down to dinner. After the cake, I didn’t feel like dinner so we skipped it and went to walk around London.

***

       “ Nico.” He finally let me into his room. “ You’re shutting us out obviously because of Hazel.”

“ Hazel doesn’t deserve this though!” Nico said, his eyes were tear-stained. “ I can’t let you people do this to her! I can’t let you take her away from them!”

“ Nico this is beyond your control.” I said, “ And Hades has planned a different course of action for Hazel.”

“ And what’s that?” Nico said, “ Not making her a vampire? Please tell me that’s it.”

“ Yes, they’re not going to turn her into a vampire." I said, “ It’s too late for you to do that, but Hazel can.”　

“ Why is he doing that for Hazel and not me?”

“ Do not ask questions to which you do not want to know the answer.” His eyes welled with tears.

“ I was never one to cry.” Nico said, curling up on the bed. “ But this has changed that.” I got closer to him on the bed.

“ At least I am the only one who ever sees you cry like this.” I said, “ I’m surprised you aren’t looking at this in more positive terms even if you aren't one to do so. You will be seeing your sister again.”

“ I’m not the same person I was, Ciel.”

“ Nico, in my human life I had to walk back entirely changed to all of the people I had once known. A person who you knew is coming back to you. Of course she will see the change, but she will still love you as her brother.” I said, “ I know a relative’s love does not change if you come back changed.”

“ How?”

“ You know of my arranged fiancee Elizabeth. Before my life changed, I meant the world to Elizabeth. After I changed I still meant everything to her.”

“ And this Elizabeth, is she a demon?” I never asked and I'd wanted too, but I figured that then it would be a good idea. 

“ No. I asked her to become one, but she did not want to. She died a long time ago.” I said, remembering her. I could still see her face when she saw I was a demon, so confused, so reluctant. I wondered what became of her. “ I am the only one in my family line from then who is alive, and I do not know of any descendants.”

“ I will outlive Hazel and Percy.” Nico said, seeming to realize it for the first time. He stared blankly at the ceiling. “ But at least I’ll always have you.” He sat up, and put his arm around me. Then, we kissed.

***

       “ I’m probably going to do a terrible job protecting Hazel.” I said to Agni, “ I have no idea how to go about it really. Alois and Ciel, they date the people they protect, and Erik checks in on L but L doesn’t really need anyone to help him. Hazel is different from Nico and Dante, and that’s really all I know except what Hades told me about her past and her boyfriend. Even if Dante is getting her acclimated to monsters, I’m still leery.”

“ And with good reason.” Said Agni, “ she is a demigod who was persecuted by the Earls. I wonder if she remembers your face.”

“ True.” I said, “ I did speak to Ciel because Percy was staring at him.” I flinched, remembering the look in his eyes. It was a chilling look of sheer hate, a look similar to a slayer’s when faced with a demon which whom they had a vendetta. I had seen that look when trying to help a slayer had broken into a party, and succeeded in his task. Erik killed him a week later, but the look in the eyes of the Slayer had reminded me of the eyes of Percy that day. Had Hazel looked over and saw my face in the crowd? That was when I remembered the eye contact I’d made with her. She looked so scared, sad, disappointed, as though someone had sucked the life out of her. I was nervous of her fate as well, and had locked eyes with her for several minutes. I wanted to have Agni pry the cage open, hug her and tell her it would be okay. “ I remember her on that day, Agni.”

“ A day parallel to that will not happen again if you are there my Young Prince.” Agni said, “ I still do not know how he could have allowed his own daughter to almost be killed by Earls.”

“ I do not know, either. Perhaps he had too much wine and some Earls snuck in when he was hung over. It has happened before.” I said, “ However, Lord Hades is not a drinker. Ah well, whatever the case, Hades, Pluto, whichever side he was showing that day said that election was okay. Though, later on he ordered the Earls not to go after the demigods.”

“ Perhaps he was drunk.” Said Agni, “ MANY bad things happen when gods drink.”

“ Yes, but still.” I said, “ Is it because Hazel is a daughter of the Roman counterpart of him, and he wants to rid himself of himself?

“ Maybe.” Agni said, “ Perhaps he wants only the Hades part of himself to remain, and it was Pluto who sent out the order to you.”

“ This is so confusing! Does this mean I’ve switched sides and became Hades’s enemy? Am I Pluto’s ally? Is there even honor in that because he’s Hades most of the time? How am I supposed to protect her from the wrath of a god?”

“ Perhaps you are thinking to hard about this.”

“ I know right? The problem is that I just don’t know! He looked like Hades when he was ordering me to protect her!”

“ I’m sure the answers will come eventually, Young Prince, just like it always does.”

“ I suppose.”

***

    I didn’t find myself sleeping that night. Usually I slept fine, the bed was more comfortable than cardboard, which was what I'd usually slept on. However, that night I couldn’t sleep. I tossed and turned, before finally giving up. I got out of bed, and walked around the house.

     It was quiet and dark, to dark to see. I turned on a flashlight and walked around. The Persian rugs were soft under my feet, muffling my every step. I finally got to the staircase, where I was careful of each step and the railing. You never knew what lurked besides the railing of a stairway in a house of demons and vampire, after all. I was human, wasn’t I? I was beginning to doubt myself in certain things. I found myself wandering aimlessly; the darkness made me lose my bearings. That was when I realized I was close to the kitchen, and wondered if perhaps I was hungry. So, I went into the kitchen, and turned on the light. I jumped back, because I had not thought Nico to be there, and I did not notice any energy in the room. He was eating a chocolate bar. He broke off a piece and offered it to me. I accepted it with a thank you, and sat down to eat it. He was shirtless, which I figured was how he slept. “ You can not sleep either?” I asked, and he shrugged.

“ I don’t know.” He said, “ I thought I would be able to sleep, and I guess I’m just curious to know why I’m not sleepy.”

“ I guess you could say you were hungry for knowledge in that genre.” I smiled, and finished off the piece. “ I do not know why I can not sleep either. Perhaps we were not meant to sleep tonight.”

“ So, you’re saying there’s a reason?”

“ Maybe.”

“ No, I just think it’s sleeplessness. Nothing more than that.” Nico said, finishing the chocolate bar. He threw away the wrapper, just as car light shone through the curtain that covered the front door.

“ See? There is a rhyme and reason to everything as well as a solution and situation.” I said, “ I will answer the door if necessary. Someone had to have let them in, after all, the gate is always locked.”

“ Or someone shadow-traveled in.”

“ Or the gate isn’t open at all.”

“ Maybe, the light seemed a little-”

There was a crash, as if metal had hit metal.

“ That answers that.” I said, “ Shall we wait for the servants? I have a feeling we weren’t meant to.”

“ Why not?” Nico smiled, and he ran and got is aviator’s jacket on.

      We approached at an angle from which whatever was at the gate could not see us. I heard cursing in another language, a forgotten language. “ It’s Greek.” Nico whispered in horror, “ oh my gods, they’ve found me.”

“ We have to hurry then!” I said, “ Where do we go?”

“ Why ‘we’?”

“ Because I’m the one who got you into this mess and are we really going to argue?”

“ No.”

“ That settles it.” We ran into the house and Nico locked the door behind him.

“ What are you two doing at this hour?” Claude came out of nowhere, but I had felt his presence before our arrival.

“ Demigods, whatever they are but they’re Greek, are outside the gate.”

“ I see.” Said Claude, “ I will take care of them. I suggest that the two of you go to bed before the pesky Phantomhive servant arrives.”

      Nico walked past, saying a hurried goodnight before shuffling off to bed. I didn’t bother to look in his mind to see why he’d hurried off. Instead, I went to the window and looked out to see what exactly Claude had done. The car remained, yet no people were around it. I sensed only Claude’s mind outside, and no other living thing. Such was expected out of a butler in a house of demons.

***

    I was awoken by Claude in the morning, and I noticed a speck of red on his hand. I read his mind, finding my answer. “ Aha, so they HAVE guessed we live here.” Claude nodded as a response and left. How rude of a butler! I thought, he should at least answer me with words!

    After getting dressed and doing my hair, I went down to breakfast. “ How’s the book your reading, Erik?”

“ Good.” He said, “ I’m rereading it, so.”

“ Good.” I said, “ Are you planning on seeing the movie?”

“ Perhaps.” Said Erik, “ The movies ruin the nuance of the books. They make people believe that they understand the plot, yet they know nothing of the full intricacy of the book. They also refuse to experience the book. Needless to say I hate movies based on books.” Well, someone was grouchy that morning. L sat next to me, which wasn’t uncommon.

“ Morning L!” I said, “ How was last night?”

“ I fell asleep in front of my monitors actually. It’s the first time in a long while, so I should have expected it.” L shrugged, “ I haven’t slept in a while.” I silently searched his mind. He couldn’t feel it, of course, but it was interesting to see what he had in there. It was the mind of a genius. The last time he’d slept had been a year ago.

“ That is quite a while.” I said, “ We should bring back Light Yagami sometime.”

“ No, we should not.”

“ Why?” L had loved him after all, so what would have been so bad? It might be fun to meet my brother's love interest, and sense he didn't speak English for a while until he learned it would be hilarious.

“ Because he was Kira.”

“ And?”

“ I can’t have someone, no something that I wanted to-”

“ Destroy?”

“ Yes, I suppose that is a term you could use, but it doesn’t quite describe it.”

“ Okay, then we won’t do that. I just want to do something fun with you, that’s all. ‘Cause, let’s face it, you don’t get out much.”

“ I don’t, and I admit to it gladly.”

“ So you and I should do something sometime.”

“ Good morning everyone!” I turned to Alois, and waved for him to come morning. At least now I was assured my day would go well, Alois always made me so happy. He was like a bright orange ray of sunshine, or purple, which he would prefer sense it was his favorite color. And my, how lovely he looked in it. He sat next to me at the table. “ How was your sleep last night Dante?”

“ Odder than usual, actually.”

“ Oh?”

“ Yes it pertained to demigods, Nico and the Mademoiselle, and Claude.”

“ Tell us.” Said Erik, “ how did this dream play out?”

“ Well, Nico could not sleep so he went downstairs to eat, and he ate in the darkness. Mademoiselle could not sleep either, and she went down too. Nico surprised her, and then they shared some chocolate.”

“ We’ll need to get some more later.”

“ Indeed! Well, after that there was car headlights. They went to go check it out and someone had crashed into the gate. It, by the sounds of their language, was demigods. Somehow Mademoiselle and Nico get back into the house without being seen. Then Claude, you come in.” I looked to him sense he was standing there. “ You heard the commotion and went there before Sebastian, and said you would handle it when he got up. So you did, going upstairs, and seeing that Mademoiselle and Nico had walked in. They explain to you what happened, then you go outside and kill the demigods with butter knives very skillfully. So skillfully that there was not a speck of blood on the ground. Mademoiselle looks out the window and sees the wreckage of the car, then walks past. That’s the last part of the dream with her and Nico. It just switches to you, and you clean the car wreckage and bring it to the Trio, whom you had called a while ago, and whom had finally got there. They have fire powers, which are bloody epic. They make a table out of the wreckage, and it’s very pretty. You put it downstairs in the servant’s quarters, because I figured you need nice things too. The bodies were incinerated too. And that was it that was the end. It was a rather pleasant dream, it could have been a nightmare after all.”

“ What is a nightmare to you, Dante?”

“ My human memories.”

“ Your human life must have been horrible, then.” Said L, eating the piece of chocolate cake that was laid in front of him.

“ It could have been worse, but in a dream you believe what is going is reality.” I said, “ and if I believe that is reality once again…” it made me sick just to think about it. I never wanted that to even seem like reality ever again. Suddenly in an abrupt change of pace, I thought of Hazel. I smiled, “ L, are you excited to meet Hazel soon?”

“ Excited isn’t quite the word I would use, but it will be interesting to see how this all plays out.” L said, “ There is two ways this could go.”

“ One bad way,” I crossed one of my arms pointing over the other, “ or the good way!” I pointed the other way from under my first arm.

***

     The day went quickly for some reason, I tried to be the actress that the entity had told me to be. I didn’t know, for some reason I didn’t care anymore. When the campfire came I was actually excited. I went into the woods and the boy was waiting for me. “ What are you?” I asked, and he smiled brightly, then looked down and shook his head jokingly.

“ I am whatever you wish me to be, Hazel!” Dante looked up again, “ Whatever you wish.”

“ You aren’t human, please, could you just tell me?!” I knew reasoning with a mad man was impossible, but I could try. It might be for Nico, for all I knew Nico could still have been alive and well with this person, alive and well somewhere, or at least alive.

“ Fine, love, I’m a vampire.” Said Dante, “ no need to give me that look. I’m going to give you a hint, Nico is alive and well. If you tell anyone, let’s just say you’ll never see anyone from here ever again.” The words hit me, and they took a little while to sink in. The thought hit me after my great joy.

_Nico is alive!_


	20. Broken Anonymity

***

“We haven’t talked about Hazel, why is that?” Erik asked, and I shrugged.

“It doesn’t really pertain to us now does it? It will when I meet her of course, but until then, it’s kind of unrelated to us.” I said, “I really don’t think Dante should be the go-between anymore, though. It only seems to be putting unnecessary mental stress on him. When one has a secret, sometimes it's hard to keep.”

“I agree.” Said Mademoiselle Anonymous, “tonight the tension on him was the worse as it has ever been.”

“Alois’s coming and going could have something to do with that.”

“You have a point. I need to talk to him alone about this and see if there is any way Dante and I can switch roles.”

“ Good luck getting him alone. Alois usually travels in his sort of pack, which means Luka and Dante.” Said Mademoiselle Anonymous, “you could probably say it around Luka but not Dante, and he’s usually there. We need to preoccupy Dante. I believe that I can do that.”

“ You have a plan?” I said, and she nodded.

“I will enact it immediately if you wish.”

“Go ahead.” She went off, and I watched her every movement.

          Mademoiselle went into the room where Dante, Alois, and Luka were. “Hello you three.” She said, waving. They all greeted her. At the moment, they were watching a movie, which Claude paused.

 “Dante, I was wondering if you wanted to check something out with me.” She said, “I think you would like it.”

“What is it?” Dante said, and I was happy to see the look that was normally in his eyes back in them.

 “The house beyond the walls of the mansion. New people just moved in, and I was wondering if you wanted to check them out.” Mademoiselle Anonymous said, “You know, to make sure they aren’t slayers or anything.”

“Ooh that does sound fun!” Said Dante, “I can practice espionage for the next time I work with L on a case!”

“Good.” Mademoiselle smiled, and Dante got up. They left together.

 “I believe that is your cue, L.”

 “I think so too.”

       I shadow-traveled into the room where Alois and Luka were. “Hello L!” Luka said cheerfully.

“Hello,” Alois said with a slight nod. “I believe I know why you are here.” He’d lost the usually psychotic cheerfulness and turned to all seriousness. Luka too picked the serious vibe, and the air grew tense.

“I will take Dante’s place as the go-between.” I said simply, and Alois nodded.

“ Yes,” Alois said. “This is only bringing him pain, after all and I don’t like to see him in pain for some reason. It just feels wrong.”

“ It is.” I paused, noticing Luka was looking at his shoes.

“ Is something wrong with our deal, Luka?” I asked him, usually a child looking at their shoes meant sadness, guilt, something along those lines.

“ No, nothing.” Another critical response that entailed that something was wrong. “ Luka.” I said, and he looked up.

“ It’s just, I feel bad about separating him from seeing Hazel! Maybe we should just find a better spot in the woods where he couldn’t see the Camp!”

“ Luka, if Hazel gets lost in the woods, Soma might be reprimanded with death.” Alois never lost his serious tone in the conversation, which was rather surprising. I took it under consideration for future references. Luka’s eyes welled with tears, and he began to cry. Alois wavered even more, and hugged Luka. “ Now, now, don’t cry! You’re going to make me cry too! It’s for the best, Luka, it really is and Dante will be able to see Hazel soon!”

“ It’s not really about them, Jim, it’s more like I remember what it was like when we were separated!” Luka said, burying his face in Alois’s coat. I had to remember that Jim had been the name of Alois before certain things happened, things which Alois would not be pleased with me telling you. I also had to remember what had transpired between Alois and Luka, and I think it‘d be okay if I at least told you that.

         When Alois and Luka were young, they were homeless. In that era, orphanages weren’t the best. Alois (who was known as Jim Macken back then) and Luka were homeless and resorted to stealing other people’s items, causing resentment between them and the villagers. It gets confusing from there on in. Apparently, Alois and Luka had mental problems even back then, more than likely caused by mental damages by villagers. Alois said “they should all just die” and Luka took that literally. He’s a really dedicated little brother, because he summoned Hannah and made a contract with her to destroy the village except one woman who would later be killed. When the village was burned and it’s villagers killed by Hannah and the Trio, Luka’s soul was eaten by Hannah. Alois found the body, and then things happened and he became Earl Trancy. Luka had been the best soul Hannah had ever tasted, and the soul’s attributes went to her and she took care of Alois. In the end, Alois’s soul was taken by Hannah, and in the end of this completely convoluted triangle, Hannah made Alois and Luka into demons from their souls. While Luka was eaten by Hannah, he’d missed his older brother very much, becoming more and more vengeful and dark in entity. He brightened, though, when Alois was with him. Perhaps Hannah could not stand seeing her favorite soul diminish into that state, but if so, why did she make them demons? Mysteries remained unsolved by even me. However, what I did know was that the memories of being away from Alois were very painful to Luka, and I felt somewhat bad for stirring them up. When the air grew uncomfortable, I left the room and went back into mine.

      “ Be careful what you say,” Was the first thing Erik said when I got back in the room. “ They can add a negative light when you don’t want them too.”

“ I know, but there was no way to properly word it. Its fine, I’m bad with people in general, even worse with emotionally scarred ones I guess.”

“ Indeed, but I must agree, there was no other ways to word it. You did a good job, but I had a feeling I should warn you for later.”

“ Sense when did you go future telling?”

“ I can’t tell the future. I merely believe it would be useful advice when dealing with hot-headed Earls.”

“ Alright.” I said, “ I hope that Mademoiselle Anonymous-”

“ We already checked the people out, actually, but it was good thinking on her behalf.” Erik smiled slightly, and looked out the window. “ She’s a smart girl. Did you look her up yet, L?”

“ No, it’s too risky. If I do, there’s a high chance that she will read my mind and figure out what I’m doing. And when she figures out what you’re doing, she gets angry. The last time she burned the files that were found and started breaking things.”

“ Does she put them back together?”

“ Did you see anything broken in the drawing room?”

“ No.”

“ That’s what I mean.”

“ Oh.” Said Erik, “ she’s good at putting things back together, I guess.”

“ No, I think she can bend objects with her mind.” I said, “ She’s odd.”

“ We all are.”

***

      Dante smiled, looking down from the stairway. We were invisible because we used our powers to make ourselves that way. At the bottom of the stairway was a dog, barking at us. A British voice goaded it away from the staircase, and looked up at us, though he did not see us. He pulled his dog gently and they went into the next room. “ They seem nice.” I said to Dante sense they could not hear us either.

“ Indeed. And, Mademoiselle, I am quite content with NEVER setting foot in that awful place again.” Dante never lost his smile, and I was amazed. I thought I’d blocked that memory properly, and I wondered if he really was that powerful. He looked at the staircase, and looked to me. “ Yes, I am referring to Camp Half-Blood. Good for L! He can see just how much Dad hates us!”

“ Might I say your mind powers are astonishing.”

“ Thank you, now, let’s go home okay?”

“ Okay.”

 

***Next Night

      The person who met me in the woods was different this time. He was a lot odder in appearance than Dante. He wore a long sleeve shirt, jeans, and had a slumped posture. Under his eyes were dark bags like he hadn’t slept in three years, and straight black hair. “ My name is L, Hazel, and I am also your brother.”

“ Okay then.” I said, “ What happened to Dante, and are you associated with the Earls?”

“ Yes, I am.” Said L, sitting a tree stump. He sat in an odd fashion, with his legs folded against him. I wondered how that could have possibly been comfortable, but then again perhaps it wasn’t, and he just sat that way anyways. Monsters were peculiar things. “ Dante will no longer be coming to visit you here. I will instead.”

“ Oh? And, what happened to him?” Suddenly I remembered how panicked he seemed. The thought of him being hurt because or me made me feel awful.

“ Nothing happened to Dante, he merely isn’t coming. You’ll see him soon, Hazel.” Said L, “ you’ll see Nico soon too.” That made me question things. _Does he mean they’re dead?_ I didn’t want to believe that, but then again I couldn’t completely trust him. I wondered if I should just give up on the “deal” and tell Frank or Percy about it. “ The deal is close to the end, Hazel.”

“ And what will happen in the end?”

“ We’ll take you away.”

“ To where?”

“ To our home, and we’ll protect you.”

“ From what?”

“ I hope you realize how much the threat of losing us frightened our Father. He doesn’t want us to die, I think.” Said L, “ and I believe that’s all I’m supposed to say.”

“ You told me more than Dante about where I was going.” I noted, “ But that means we’re close to the end of this ‘deal’ right?”

“ Yes.” Said L, “ within days end.”

“ How will it end?”

“ It is not up to me.”

“ Then who’s it up too?”

***

     “ We shall collect her in the evening, Agni.” I said, looking at the table of Earls even though I was speaking to him. “ When all the others are asleep, that is the best time to make our move.”

“ The Camp is asleep by one or two in the morning at most, but that is the time the Harpies like to clean.” Said Ciel, “ So you should go around 12 or 11.” I nodded, Ciel knew what he was talking about. I had faith he’d lead me in the right direction.

 “ Which one is the cabin of Hades?” I asked, “ Or will I be able to tell.”

“ Even in the dark you should be able to tell, especially with your werewolf vision.” Said Sebastian, “ I myself had no trouble finding it in dark or early morning hours.” My pulse rushed, and I had to take a deep breath. All this talk about what I was going to do made me uneasy and nervous, but we all had to go through with that for the person Hades had assigned us. Now that it was my turn, it was my turn, nothing more and nothing less. I had to do it just as everyone else had. I just hoped that Hazel would come easily, because I don’t think I could stand to see her cry even if I hadn’t met her before. I also hoped that she’d like me. That seemed important, after all, the Earls protecting the sons of Hades had to be liked by them. He seemed to group them by personalities, but was I just the left over? If so, Hazel was the left over too. _See, Soma, you already have something in common!_

       That night when L came back I could not sleep. I laid awake for most of the night and did not even recall when I fell asleep. In the morning, after my devotions, instead of going to breakfast I went into what would be Hazel’s room. “ This room is important, Agni.” I said, “ When she gets angry, she can hide here. When she wants to be alone, she can hide here. This will be her sanctuary until she adjusts.”

 “ Yes.” Said Agni, “ but, I think she will at least wish to talk to Nico and maybe Ciel.”

“ Perhaps I won’t have to confront her for a few days.” I said, “ No, no that would be bad.”

 “ It would.” Agni agreed, and I noticed how silent he seemed on everything.

 “ What are your thoughts on this?”

“ I am just as nervous as you, my Young Prince. Everything changes once they’re out of that border.”

***

    I missed Camp Jupiter lot. Even with Frank there, it was hard to adjust to everything that was different. I wondered if that was where the Earls were taking me, but I assumed not. I began to think more and more about the deal. “ Is something wrong, Hazel?” Percy asked me one day.

“ No, nothing.” I said, “ nothing at all, why?”

“ You seem to be feeling better lately.” Said Percy, “ but sometimes you just zone out. I was asking you if you were okay for the past 2 minutes.” “ No, it’s nothing.” I said, “ Honestly, Percy, I’m fine.”

“ I saw you go into the woods last night, Hazel.” Said Percy, a sarcastic smile forming on his mouth. “ What were you doing in there?”

“ I go in there sometimes to think.” I said, “ The world seems to have moved on from the death of Nico but I haven’t yet. I need some time to get away, top think about him you know?” Of course, I felt bad about only giving Percy less than the truth, but I felt compelled to do as the deal had stated. But then again, the maker of the deal was gone, and in his place was a new person. Did that mean all of the same aspects of the deal were in tact? I had not idea.

 “ Hazel?”

“ Sorry.”

“ It’s okay.” Said Percy, “ I understand, in truth I still miss Nico too. Something feels missing now, and just when I start to think ‘when is he going to come back’ I have to remind myself that he can’t.”

“ That is painful.” I said and he nodded. “ Remember how Nico wanted to leave us behind?”

“ Yeah, why?”

“ Well, he did. Do you think he knew?” Percy looked loftily into the distance. I had to think about that too. Did Nico know he was going to die? Wait, according to Dante, Nico wasn’t dead.

“ I, I don’t think anyone really knows.” I said, “ it’s kind of likely sense he did have a lot of powers relating to death.”

“ You have a point.” Said Percy, “ They never said how he died.”

“ You’re right.” I said, “ it’s natural to blame Earl Ciel, though.”

“ It is.” Said Percy, “ the wolf in sheep’s clothing. My guess is that he had something to do with it. Nico was so uneasy when he was around, and if only I had known.” He looked like he was going to cry, and he wiped his eyes. “ He had reasons for being so uneasy around Ciel and I didn’t see it coming. But why, why didn’t he tell me?”

“ Ciel was that person who you were choking, the one who stabbed you, right?” I said and Percy nodded.

 “ I still want to kill him for what he did.”

“ I don’t blame you.”

 

***

     I handed Mademoiselle the bottle of Coke. She was really demanding sometimes, and I wondered after handing the bottle of Coke to her if she’d stop asking me to do things for her. “ Sit with me, Delilah.” She said, and I did.

 “ What’s this about?” I asked, “ more like what else do you want me to do?” She handed me a cookie, and I thanked her as I ate it.

 “ Nothing, I need company, and I thought that would involve soda and cookies.”

 “ Sounds like a good plan to me.” I said, and she leaned back in the chair. That was when I decided it was the proper time to tell her what was on my mind. “ You better not be just using Mr. Erik because he doesn’t deserve that kind of treatment!” She looked undisturbed, and snickered. I wondered for a minute it she was. “ I’ll kill you!”

“ Calm down child.” Said Mademoiselle, “ Madame Giry already threatened me for the same reason and more violently than you. I’m not using Erik and I wonder why you people keep thinking that. However, it’s nice to see that you care about him enough to threaten me, if not sweet.”

“ I’m not sweet!”

“ Keep telling yourself that.”

“ I’m not!”

“ If you insist.” Mademoiselle laughed, and took another drink of soda. “ Between the two of us, I really am getting an attraction towards Erik, not matter how unbelievable that may seem.”

“ An attraction towards his money!”

“ No!” She pointed at me as though I was a puppy who tore up her shoes. “ You people are so friggin’ difficult sometimes! This morning I had to prevent Madame Giry friggin’ eating me and I don’t want to put up with your shit too!” She sighed and chugged her soda down. “ Why? Why? Why?” She looked like she was in pain and hit her head on the side of the couch. That was when I wondered if she really was serious. “ Why can’t someone believe me?” Something about the way she was saying it made me believe her.

 “ Okay, fine. I’ll believe you.” I said, and she looked at me. She looked like she was going to cry.

 “ At least someone does.” Mademoiselle smiled faintly. “ I’ve had problems with people not having faith in my feelings.” She pushed herself upright.

“ Well, that’s kind of hard when you’re crying.” I said squinting at her. “And you seem legit.”

She laughed, “ I like you.”

“ Okay.” I said, “ you're kind of insane I think. If you like me why do you make me do stuff?”

“ I try to make you do tasks like get soda or cookies for me so Madame Giry doesn’t think that you’re lazy.” Mademoiselle said, “ that way you can slack off more.”

“ I’m not lazy!”

“ Okay, Delilah. Tell me what you did today servant wise other than get me the cookies and soda.”

“ I cleaned the carpet!”

“ Which one?”

“ The one on the stairs near the East Wing.”

“ Okay, and what else?”

“ Nothing.” I said, and then I saw her point. “ I don’t like working.”

“ I can tell.” Mademoiselle got up and looked out the window. “ Anyways, do not tell anyone this. My name is Krista.”

“ As in Christine?”

“ No, just Krista. But it is so close to that name, it is another reason I am keeping my name hidden from everyone including Erik. Erik mainly because I’m scared it will bring back memories for him.” Mademoiselle clenched her hands. “ And I don’t want to hurt him. However, for some odd reason, I feel like I can trust you, Delilah. Am I correct in saying so.”

I nodded. “ My lips are sealed Miss Krista!”

“ Keep calling me Mademoiselle.”

“ Alright, Mademoiselle.”

 “ Do not tell Madame Giry.”

“ Oh please, why would I do that?”

“ I do not know.” Mademoiselle said, “ just like you do not know my name.”

 


	21. The Go-Between

***

     “I messed up. I messed up so badly.” Dante’s head was down on the table.

“ Now,” I said, “ what did you say?”

“ I fucked up! I told her Nico was alive!”

“ Well, shit.”

“ But, I told her that she’d be taken away if she told anyone else.”

“ Taken away by who?”

“ I didn’t specify.”

“ Okay, Dante, you didn’t screw up too badly then.” I said, “ So what if you told her Nico’s alive? She probably thinks it’s a lie anyways, and it’s just bait to get her here.” Dante turned his head and smiled faintly.

“ I suppose you’re right, you usually are.” He got up and gave me a hug.

“ It’ll be alright.” I said, “ And if it doesn’t, so what?”

“ When are we going to take her here?”

“ A few days.”

“ Good, I don’t think I can stall this any longer than that.”

***

      Preparations for Miss Hazel’s arrival began. Thanks to Mister Sebastian, I had two Phantomhive servants helping me with the preparations too. After the room was cleaned out for her, Young Prince and I went shopping in town.

“ Do you think she’ll like this, Agni?” Young Prince fingered purple curtains. “ I forgot to ask Nico what her favorite color was, so I assume it’s purple. Plus, purple is the color for Camp Jupiter is it not?”

“ I believe so Young Prince.”

“ Okay, we’re buying these. If Hazel doesn’t like them by all means we can give them to Alois.”

“ True.” I said, and we moved onto the bedding. “ I do not think we should buy purple bedding. The room is a light purple and these curtains are a purplish blue, I think another color would be wise.”

“ Yes, as do I. What color is the dresser and wardrobe?”

“ White.”

“ How about cream for the bedding?”

“ I think that would go nicely but I like these better.” Young Prince picked out a bedspread that was purple, orange, and a shade of gold. After setting that up, the room was ready for Miss Hazel’s arrival.

*** Next Day

     Dante came to me after dinner. I was playing a video game in my room, and paused it. “ I’m coming with you tonight, right?” I said, and he nodded.

“ Is New York cold?”

“ No, Luka, not there. You’ll be fine without a jacket.”

“ Oh good.” He shadow traveled into a wall, and I waited for a few minutes. When 5 minutes passed I ran, and got to Camp Half-Blood, laughing, running from a bush into a small clearing. I stopped, and gave Dante a quick hug. I had a dark glow around me for some reason, and I didn’t question it.

“ This is Luka Macken, my lover’s little brother.”

“ How do you do?” I offered my hand and Hazel shook it. She had pretty eyes, they were gold like Alois’s ring. I looked off into the distance where you could see the campfire's light ever so faintly and hear the mirth of the demigods. That scared me slightly, but only because they could go into the woods any second and slaughter Dante and I. 

“ Well, actually." She said in a very unamused manner. " And, what are you?”

“ A demon!” I chirped, “ I won’t eat you, because you’re nice, right?”

“ I guess I’m nice.” Said Hazel, “ Unless you attack me. I feel as though I’ve seen you somewhere.”

“ Maybe.” I said, “ It’s rather likely, but the chances we’ve encountered each other face to face is more than minimum.”

“ So, why isn’t your girlfriend here?” Hazel asked, “ if her brother-”

“ Um, he dates my brother, but yes my brother is girly sometimes.”

“ Oh.” She said, “ Sorry! I didn’t know.”

“ It’s okay!” I said, “ I’m sure Alois wouldn’t really care.”

I sat next to Hazel on the stump. “ Sure is nice here. Alois didn’t come because Aleister invited him over, right?”

“ Who’s that?”

“ The Viscount of Druitt or in this case, the 87th Earl.”

“ E-Earls?” Hazel said, drawing her blade.

“ Goddamn, Hazel! I said I wasn’t going to hurt you!” I said, backing away from her. “ The Earls aren’t out for your blood anymore! Hades ordered it to be stopped!”

“ Wait, what?”

“ Your Father okays everything that the Earls do.” Dante said, “ and no, I am not one of the Earls.”

“ I’m so confused. Why are you here other than to kill me?”

“ We ARE NOT GOING TO BLOODY KILL YOU!” Dante yelled, then sighed. “ Are sisters this fickle all the time?”

“ What?”

“ Oh crap.” Dante hid his face in his hands. “ Luka! Save me with your cuteness!”

“ I want to know!” Hazel said, turning to me. “ Is he my brother?” She pointed to Dante who was curled into a ball almost near tears.

“ Um, yeah!”

“ Fuck!”

“ The nuns at the school I used to go too would have washed your mouth out with soap or worse for saying that kind of stuff.”

“ Ew.” I said, “ soap tastes gross.”

“ It did.” Hazel said with a nod, “ got my mouth washed with it a few times.”

     I looked back to Dante. He was sitting on a tree branch as if nothing had happened. That was what I liked about him and Alois. When they were thrown a twist, they snapped right back and forgot about it. I suppose that was what was wrong with the three of us too. But who cares, honestly? That’s right, we don’t because we snap back. “ You do kind of look like Nico, just a little.” Hazel said quietly. 

“ Well, maybe Hades missed Nico’s Mom. Maybe that’s the only reason why he liked my Mom.” Dante said, “ she was to make up for Nico’s Mom, yes, that’s it and I was just a fault in the plan.” He looked down sadly, then took off his glasses and cleaned them with his shirt. “ Hades doesn’t like me very much. I’m probably just a filler.” I jumped up on the tree branch and gave him a hug.

“ It’s okay, Dante! You have me and Alois, we love you!” I said, “ who cares about everyone else?” I was completely aware Hazel hear this, though I didn't particularly care. She didn't seem ready to attack. 

“ Your right, Luka.” Dante smiled down at me, then looked at the Camp in the distance. “ It is really nice there, isn’t it?” He looked forlorn again. “ But I know it was never meant for me.” Hazel below us remained silent and alone.

      “ Why don’t you scale the tree and sit on the branch with us?” I asked her, offering a hand. The tree branch was high enough for her not to reach my hand, but I was using it as a guide for her levitation.

“ I can’t really.” She said, and I levitated her onto the tree branch. “ You really are a little devil.”

“ Yes indeed!” I said, “ so is Alois!”

“ Your brother, correct?”

“ Yes.” I said cheerfully, then I frowned. “ Hazel, you aren’t going to hate us, are you?”

“ I don’t know yet.” Said Hazel, “ I’m still confused by so much about you people and why you're here.”

“ There is a lot to be confused about.” Dante had a solemn, meaningful look as he stared off into the lights of the Camp beyond. “ Our reality is just so different than yours, Hazel, that everything is confusing to you. But you like this life, you love this life no matter how much your subconscious tells you otherwise. Your life will bend into ours, and then you’ll be a part of the mash forever. And the worse part is that I cannot see how you will feel about that, I cannot see it at all.” I was confused but at the same time, I was not confused. “ Do not be afraid of us, Hazel. Fear leads to things being undone, things being ruined. The best thing you can do is keep silent about this.”

“ Wasn’t it that way from the beginning?”

“ Yes, and not much has changed sense the beginning.”

“ Does that mean our deal hasn’t gone as planned?”

“ I believe so.” Said Dante, “ just once…”

“ Just once? What?”

“ Just once would I have liked to at least seen the gates to this place.”

“ It wasn’t meant to be for you.” I told Dante as I stared up at him, “ you were meant to be with us.”

“ Yes.” Dante straightened and looked down at me. “ I was never meant to be here. Perhaps Hazel’s not meant in our world, Luka.”

“ We have to follow orders or we’ll be killed!” I said, and he nodded.

“ Than I suppose we must do what we're assigned.” He held me tightly against him, and looked at Hazel. I shot a glance at her, and then quickly looked away. “ Good night, Hazel, good night.”

And we disappeared.

***

    I stared at Ciel from the other side of the desk. I was looking at what was going to happen with Hazel in a more positive light now, and the odd silence between Ciel and I had become the normal, comfortable silence we usually sat in. Mostly, I'd use that time to think, and sometimes I'd amuse myself with wondering what Ciel was thinking about. “ I would ask Dante how Hazel is reacting to all of this, but I won’t because honestly I do not want to know.” I said, getting Ciel’s attention. “ In fact, Ciel, I want to know more about you. How long do I have to wait and at what point can I learn that?” I knew his family was dead and that he's seen them die, that he had had a fiancee, that he'd made a Faustian contract with Sebastian in his human years only to have messed up stuff happen and finally become a demon. 

He sighed. “ I knew you would ask that eventually, Nico.” He put down the stack of papers and looked straight into my eyes. “ Ask me anything you wish, and I will answer it.”

“ What happened to your parents, how did they die?”

“ I figured you would ask that first.” He paused, “ the mad Queen ordered them killed, and they were killed. The assassins kidnapped me and sold me as a sacrificial lamb for a cult. I endured much pain while I was their sacrifice, and that is why I have a brand mark burned onto me. I regard it as a mark of my pain and the pain of the other sacrificial urchins whom were stolen and had died whether it be to sacrifice, starvation, or sickness. It seemed never ending until the night where they would finally kill me. Sebastian came and made the contract with me, therefore becoming my butler. I became the head of Phantomhive house sense my parents were dead. You know what happened at the end of my revenge.” I thought about Ciel’s past and mine. I thought about the brand on Ciel, and flinched. I didn’t even want my mind to elaborate what had happened to him as a cult sacrifice. I'd seen the brand very few times, actually only when he was asleep and his pajamas had slipped up a little when he moved. Sometimes I would hold him in the night...just because I was out of the ventures of demigods didn't mean my nightmares ended. 

“ You did have a really bad past.”

“ Do not sympathy me, Nico. I have gotten more than my fill.”

“ I know, but to think that’s the reason your like this. Did you see your parents dead?”

He nodded solemnly. “ I ran to them for help. Little did I know what I would find.”

“ That’s awful.” I said, “ I never saw Bianca dead…I was just told that she was.”

“ She was the only thing that you had, Nico. Our pasts cannot compare in the slightest.” Ciel said, “ yet there is pain ahead for you, Nico.”

“ In the form of death.” I said, “ I will outlive all of my friends.”

“ Yes, unless other circumstances arise, and that is unlikely.” I shivered. It did not set me at ease to know that one day I’d go to a funeral and Percy would be in the coffin. That and I would have to go in disguise sense they thought I was dead. I could just imagine Percy and Annabeth's child (if they had one) at their parent's funeral, and asking me who I was and why I was hiding my apperance. How would I answer them? Would I answer them at all? I shivered again, remembering that I would look down and see Percy and Annabeth’s name on a tombstone. Percy was right to turn down immortality. It was not a blessing, but a horrible curse.

“ It must be horrible, Ciel, to have outlived your entire family, to be the only Phantomhive.”

“ In a way, it is, and in another way it isn’t. You see, Nico, back then I never truly wanted to die, and even if death was offered to me now I would not take it.”

“ Tartarus is closed, so that’s obvious.”

“ No, I would not take it on another condition.”

“ What?”

“ I would be leaving you alone. No doubt Sebastian and the other servants would leave everything. No, I could not leave you behind.”

“ So, if I was offered death and so were you-”

“ I would take it if you did.”

“ I would say that that is sweet of you to say, Ciel, but I know you have some motive behind it. You have motives behind almost everything you do.” I said, then there was a light knock on the door. Sebastian went over and opened it, and there stood Dante. The insane gleam in his eyes was hidden under a layer of melancholy. “ What is it, Dante?”

“ Could I talk to you for a moment privately?” He asked, laying his hand on the door way and leaning on it.

“ Of course.” I got up, looking back once at Ciel before walking over to him and following him out of the office.

      Dante and I walked in silence until he abruptly stopped. “ What was it like, being among them?”

“ Among who?”

“ You know who I’m talking about.”

“ I felt out of place, Dante.” I said, “ I was at a point where I wanted to leave everyone and everything behind.”

“ And you got that wish.” Dante said, “ tell me, Nico, do you truly believe that you were an outcast or did you create that image in your own mind because you wanted to isolate yourself? Wait no, don’t answer that question. I can see the answer in your mind.” His voice trembled with pain.

“ Dante, what happened to you?” I said, looking as he leaned on the table that was set in the hall.

“ Rejection.” Dante said bitterly, “ rejection is what happened to me, what has happened to me.”

“ I don’t reject you, Dante.” I said, “ you’re my brother.” He looked down at the table and shot me a glance. He looked like he was about to cry. Then he straightened and gave me a hug. I hugged him back and he cried into my shoulder. L appeared from the corner.

“ I don’t reject you either.” L said, looking to the side. He hugged the both of us, and I closed my eyes, enjoying the embrace of my two brothers.

***

     “ Good night, Alois!” Aleister waved to me from the steps of the house.

“ Good night, Aleister!” I waved back at him and got in my car. Claude was driving. “ Oh, Claude, shouldn’t you be with the other servants serving dinner?”

“ No, I left the trio and Hannah to do it.” He said, “ I notice you did not bring any servants with you. How was your visit to Aleister’s?”

I could tell that he didn’t really care how it was, but I told him anyways. “ Good! He has a new girlfriend! How was your day off?” Unlike Ciel whom worked Sebastian like a dog in my opinion, I gave Claude days off or half days off. Also, it was to make Sebastian envious of Claude, but we won’t get into that.

“ My day off was well, Master.”

“ Eat any souls?”

“ No.”

“ You liar.” I said, “ just keep driving.”

       “ I’m home everyone!” I announced into the empty foyer. “ Hm, everyone must be at dinner.” I marched off to dinner, and sat next to Dante. He looked somewhat forlorn. “ Hey, what happened to you?” I rubbed his back.

“ Things happened.” He said, hunched over the table slightly. 

“ Tell me who did it and I’ll kill them.”

“ No one did anything, it was just realization.” Said Dante, leaning against me. He was done with dinner, and I had ate at Aleister’s.

“ Let’s get away from these people.” I whispered to him.

    We went into the empty drawing room, and he held me close. I could tell he needed comfort, but I wanted to figure out why. “ Tell me what happened.”

“ I realized things about my life.” Dante said, “ I suppose I should get over them, though, right?”

“ Tell me more.”

“ I realized that I’m the reject child, the one he didn’t even care to protect, that my Mum was just a filler for Nico’s Mom.” He shook his head, indicating he couldn’t say anymore without it becoming too awful.

“ I don’t care about what he thinks of you.” I said, “ What matters to me is you now. What happened in our pasts made us this way but it’s better not to dwell on it. Let’s focus on the now, shall we?” He got that diabolical smile back, that smile…I loved to see him smiling.

“ We shall.”


	22. Anonymous Love

***

      “ Checkmate.” Ciel once again took the king from my side of the chessboard.

“ You win every single time!” I said, “ What’s the point?”

“ Amusement,” Ciel said, “ for me anyways.”

“ This is like making you play Mythomagic with me!”

“ It is.”

“ C-could we play that?”

“ Do you have any cards?”

“ No.”

“ Sebastian.” He appeared from the corner, where it seemed like he had melted into a shadow.

“ Yes my Lord?” Said Sebastian, “ Shall I go get Mythomagic cards?”

Ciel looked to me, then turned to Sebastian.“ If you wish, Nico.“

“ No, I really don’t want to play it.” I said, and Ciel turned back around to me. “ I figured you wouldn’t want to play it.” Said Ciel, looking down at the chessboard. We were silent for a few minutes.

“ I kind of excited for seeing Hazel again.” I said, taking back my pawns and putting them back on the board. Ciel moved his pawn first, and I moved mine. “ But I’m nervous.”

“ Why would you be nervous?” Said Ciel, moving his pawn. I sighed as he took my pawn because I’d made a mistake.

“ You have a point.” I said, “ Because I will always have you.”

“ For eternity.” Said Ciel, and I grit my teeth as he claimed the king pawn again. I had no idea how I messed up until I looked at the board.

“ Let’s play another game.” I said, and he gave me back my pawns and the game started again.

***

     I sat on the roof of the mansion. It was a windy day, and it blew my hair out of shape and made my coat cling to my body when the breeze was at its peak. When on the top of a roof, I found, there is the greatest urge to jump off and another great urge to stay there and be at peace with life while looking at the clouds, thinking of all the powers higher than you. Alois sat with me on the roof, running around it and spinning in the breezes. “ Don’t fall off!” I told him as he neared the edge. He kicked his foot and it hung off for a minute before he spun the other way.

“ Join me, it’s very fun!” Alois laughed and pulled me up against him, and we danced on the rooftop. He was right about the rush of hanging from the side of the roof. We spun each other off and on the roof sometimes. It was rather fun until we fell off the roof. Luckily, Thompson caught me and Timber caught Alois while Canterbury just looked confused.

“ Why were you jumping off of the roof?” Timber asked, and I found it odd he was talking first.

“ We weren’t jumping, whichever part of the Trio you are!” Said Alois as they put us down. “ We were having fun!”

“ Define ‘fun.’” Said Canterbury, his eyes opening a little wider.

“ We were dancing!” I said, “ The rush is excellent!”

“ It would not be the oddest thing you two have done sense you’re both bonkers.” Said Thompson, being uncharacteristically last.

“ Is something up with you three?” I asked, “ Thompson, you usually aren’t last to speak.”

“ Yes, that’s why I call you THOMPSON and company. Plus your name is the only one I remember 60% of the time.” Alois said, and Thompson shrugged. “ Ah well. Dante, why don’t we try that again?”

“ With pleasure.”

***

     “ What was that?” I said someone appeared to be flailing as they fell off the roof.

“ It is Alois and Dante falling off the roof again, don’t worry.” Mademoiselle said, “ The Trio are at the bottom of the house with a sheet ready to fling them up and down as well as catch their fall. I have to say, though, the house is awfully high in stature, over 6 floors correct?”

“ Given which part of the roof you are on.” I said with a nod. “ They’re insane, I wouldn’t worry too much.”

***

      “ What the Hades?” I looked as Dante nearly spun Alois off the roof. They looked like they were having fun doing it, and were laughing as they fell off. I didn’t panic, though, because they were immortal after all. “ They’re mad, so it’s perfectly normal I suppose.” Said Ciel, climbing onto the roof with me.

“ I guess so.” I said, climbing up with him. I hadn’t walked on to many roofs before, mostly because I was slightly nervous Zeus was going to blast me off them. It was different than standing on the Argo, because if I fell, I could catch onto a rope or something. I looked at the clouds hanging above us. “ Looks like a bad storm is brewing.” I wondered if Zeus even cared how high up I was anymore, and guessed that he didn’t. Dante stood next to me again and smiled maniacally. He grabbed my hands and we spun together. He was laughing, and I was confused because I didn’t really know the reason for his actions.

“ Don’t worry!” He said, “ it’s rather fun!” Right before tossing me off the side of the roof.

     I could hear Ciel yelling at Alois before he too joined me in falling. I felt at an odd peace as I fell through the air, even if I was screaming. When I landed, I landed in the arms of Finnian. “ Finny?” I asked, and he nodded. I looked over and saw that Sebastian had caught Ciel, who frantically looked to me. He calmed when he saw me, and I noticed his eye patch had fallen off. Finny put me down and Sebastian put Ciel down. “ What was that all about?”

“ They wanted us to have fun.” Said Ciel, “ Dante claimed we looked so sad all of the time. When I protested, Alois pushed me off the side of the roof.” He looked up at the roof, just as Alois and Dante came swirling off it. The trio caught them with a bed sheet, and Dante walked over to me and gave me a hug.

“ Now wasn’t that fun, Nico!” Dante said, “ Sometimes you’re just like L, inside all day long. Wasn’t it you who asked if the sun would burn us? It doesn’t, so why aren’t you enjoying it?”

“ Dante,” I said, “ it’s cloudy today.”

“ Only if you see it that way!” Dante let me go and he and Alois were gone in a flash.

“ They are absolutely mad, Ciel.” I said as we walked inside. Sebastian followed behind us as usual.

     By the time we returned to the basement, I was feeling a little sick to my stomach. I just leaned on the table, and Ciel noticed I was sick. “ Probably the falling off of the mansion that got you.” Said Ciel, moving my pawns for me. It was kind on intriguing, watching him play the game by himself. I watched his movements, his slender, delicate fingers moving each pawn across the board. In a way, it made me feel a little better.

“ Yes, perhaps.” I said, finally answering him. “ You’ve been lying to me, Ciel.”

“ How, in what way?” He looked up at me without any regret in his eyes. He never had regret in those eyes.

“ Hazel will not be allowed to go back to Camp Half-Blood. I have to say, though, I’m not upset about that.”

“ That is why we were waiting to tell you.”

“ I will have my sister, almost all to myself. But then, she’ll be sad because she won’t be able to see Frank again.” I didn’t feel bad about that, in fact I didn’t feel anything. _Soullessness._ “ Eh.” I shrugged, “ what are there, 200 or some odd Earls? She’ll find one she likes, I’m not worried. It’s either that or Frank will just find her.”

“ We can’t have him do that.” Said Ciel, “ I do not know how this is going to work out. He will not doubt search for her, because the way she is disappearing is suspicious especially if they know about the woods. We might have problems if we are not careful.”

“ But we will be, Ciel.” I said, “ And I for one will not let them hurt you, no matter who they are and what their reason is.” He looked down at the chessboard.

“ Even if it was Percy?” I couldn’t answer that. Ciel looked sadder than usual. “ I know that I will always come second to Percy.” I got up and walked away, I needed to think.

***

     Young Master sighed and looked towards me. “ I will rejoice in the day that Percy dies, for it is the day Nico will fully become mine.” His eyes looked ravenous, and I had to admit I was proud of my little lord. His demonic tendencies had raised greatly since the arrival of Master Nico, and I have to say that I was rather amused by that. However, he still did not act too far away from his former self if not he really had not changed at all and I was so tired that my mind began to tell itself things that would make myself feel more comfort. “ Until then, Sebastian, I will always be second and I hate it so, so much.” He took the piece of the white knight off of the bored and looked at it loathingly. " I can't help but to hate Percy for this." 

“ You like to be first, my Lord.” I agreed, “ And he stands in the way of that like a tree in the middle of a road. So, Master, why do we not just chop him down?”

“ You have no idea of the pain that would bring to Nico.”

“ The pain of others has not stopped you before.”

“ But Nico is different.” Young Master sighed. “ You would never understand.”

“ I understand your love perfectly, Master.” I said, “ I never thought you would do such a thing, and if you did I do not think that it would be as amusing to me as this.”

“ My whole life is an amusement to you, Sebastian.” Young Master said, his usual monochromatic tone shifting. He sounded near tears, a voice change I had not heard in a long time, if I had ever even heard it at all. “ I want Nico to be mine, all mine and no one else’s.”

“ Now, now, Young Master you are beginning to sound like Lord Trancy.”

“ Shut up!” He hissed, “ I will never be like Alois, ever!” He was right, but I had wanted to say it with the intent of annoying him.

“ Perhaps not, but anyways, you situation will get better in what, 80 or so years? That will pass quickly, and soon Nico will be all yours.”

“ What if Percy is given immortality?” Young Master’s glance mixed in horror and fear? Was that fear? Had I ever seen the Young Master truly afraid? His mouth quivered, and his fingers seemed restless. “ W-would he leave me, Sebastian? If Percy was immortal, no. No, I can not even think about it.” He wiped his eyes. “ What if it was forced upon Percy? No, no I cannot…” He ran off, pushing past me.

 

***

    Alone. Being alone at that time gave me peace. The quietness helped me drown out those horrible thoughts. Soon, there was a void of nothingness. I sighed, my face still wet from tears. I had not cried in perhaps over 125 years, but Nico, without words, had done the impossible. So I lay in my bed with the bleak nothingness invading everything, feeling cold and devoid of feeling. The door opened and closed, and since my curtains were drawn, I did not see who came in. “ Go away Sebastian.” I said, assuming it was him. I was not in the mood for him-I enjoyed this nothingness. The footsteps came closer. “ I said go the bloody hell away!”

“ Ciel, it’s not Sebastian.” Nico slowly opened the curtain and laid next to me. “ I wanted to say that I would choose you over Percy.”

“ No you wouldn’t.” I said, “ Nico, I know that I will always come second compared to Percy.”

“ Ciel.” He sighed and shook his head, and then held me. It felt so nice to be in his arms again. I believed him, not matter how foolish that may seem. “ You will never come second to Percy. Percy was a former crush and friend, but you are my demon. You are my boyfriend, and there’s many things between us that Percy and I will never experience that we have. How could you ever think that I would leave?”

***

      “ Mister Erik can we go get donuts?” She asked me, even though I was covered with blood.

“ No, Delilah.” I said, looking around the empty street. “ Nights like this make me remember when I killed your Father.” What a horrible man he was, to touch and do horrible things to a little girl. He was not a Father, he was a horrible monster who needed to be killed. I killed him and that was the end of her abuse. I was (and remain to be) a good Father to her, a Father she deserved. One that would never touch her or hurt her, one that would treat her in a clean, strictly paternal fashion. I was proud of myself for making her life better by establishing a normal paternal figure instead of having the warped monster that she had around. She didn't see me as a Father, but I tried not to care about that too much. 

“ I remember.” She said, and then looked around. “ Do you love me, Mr. Erik?”

“ As a normal Father would, yes.” I said, “ I do not love you like your Father loved you in his sick, perverted mind.” It struck me I never told her that I had loved her like a father.

“ That’s nice to know.” Said Delilah, looking around. “ Are there any more slayers?”

“ I do not believe so.” I said, looking around. “ I told Madame Giry to bake cookies for you when we got home.”

“ Why?” Delilah asked, “ why would you do that?!”

“ Because don’t Fathers want their daughters to be happy and unscarred?” I said, “ should I have made her make you bread?”

“ No, it’s fine.” She looked like she was going to cry. “ So, I suppose you love Mademoiselle Anonymous, huh?”

“ I do.” I said, “ Perhaps she can be like your Mother someday.” Delilah sat down on the sidewalk and wiped her eyes. “ What is wrong, Delilah?”

“ You don’t understand.” She cried, “ You really don’t.”

That was when it hit me. “ Oh, Delilah. I’m sorry, I don’t love you like that. You’re too young for me, dear. Also, Mr. Erik is an ugly creature. Even if you were my age, I would still be too ugly for you. I am still too ugly for Mademoiselle, too. No one should even look at me.”

“ Her name is Krista.” Delilah said, “ She didn’t want to tell you because she thought it would remind you of Christine!” I did not know what to say, and I just stood there for a few minutes.

“ Let’s go home, alright?” She nodded sadly, and we shadow-traveled home.

***

      “ Krista?” I turned to Erik in horror.

“ How did you learn that?” I said, silently cursing Delilah.

“ I wanted to let Delilah know that I loved her like a Father and nothing more."

“ You two were together? I did not see that at all in your mind.”

“ No, we never were together and we never will be. Delilah was always like my daughter and she shall remain my daughter.” Erik said, “ it is you I love, Krista.” Hearing my name leave his mouth was nicer than I thought it would be. “ Do you think you could stay Anonymous forever especially when you told a girl as talkative as Delilah?”

“ I just thought I could trust her.” I admitted, “ Apparently I was wrong.”

“ She will hate you more than ever now.” Erik said with a nod, “ hopefully that will change.”

“ I hope it will too.” I said, “ Poor thing. She’ll have to adapt to us, Erik, because frankly I love you too.”

***

     “ So, Delilah had a crush on Erik? How juicy!” Said Alois, and I nodded.

“ Indeed!” I agreed, “ I like him and Krista better though. Them together is far too odd.”

“ Delilah would never fit!” Alois laughed, “ She’s half Erik’s size, imagine the awkwardness!”

“ Not to mention but Erik looks 21, and Delilah looks less than her age of 14.” I said, and Alois nodded.

“ That would be sick.” Alois stopped laughing.

“ It would be sick.” I agreed, “ Anyways, how’s Hazel?”

“ I don’t know, L went out a few minutes ago.” Alois said, “ I do hope no demigods find him.”

***

     After my conversation with L, I went out of the woods. I didn’t know how the deal was going to end, but I wanted to spend time with Frank in case it ended badly.

      I sat with him at the picnic tables, and we talked for a little while. “ I’m happy to see that you’re feeling better.” Said Frank, “ you bounced back quickly, a little quicker than I thought you would.” I laughed nervously, wanting to tell him about my deal but not wanting too at the same time. I hated not telling him about it, but I couldn’t.

“ You know me.” I said, and he grabbed my hand.

“ Don’t act, Hazel. It’ll only hurt you.” He said, looking serious.

“ I know it will, Frank.” I said, fitting the urge to say that I had too. “ You just don’t know.”

“ Percy told me that you go into the woods.” Frank said, “ Why?”

“ I sit and think about Nico there.” I said, my eyes welling with tears. I hated these lies, these half-truths that I said.

“ You don’t have to be alone, Hazel.” Frank said, “ I’m always here for you, remember that.”

I looked at the sincerity in his eyes, thought about my wrongdoings, the thought that I might die because of my backwards deal, and I cried. Frank hugged me, and all I could say was “You have no idea, Frank. No idea.”


	23. Entitlement to Servants

***

    When I woke up in the morning, Ciel was not beside me, but something was on my finger. It was a golden ring with the mark of Phantomhive, and I figured it meant something, so I didn’t take it off. Once I was dressed and freshened up, I went down to breakfast. Ciel was there, a seat saved for me. I sat next to him, and he looked content when he saw I had kept the ring on. “What’s that?” Said Dante, eyeing the ring.

“I don’t know, Ciel?” I turned to him.

“We are now sharing the title of head of the Phantomhive house.” Said Ciel, “and the entitlement that goes with it.”

“Dante and I did that a few weeks ago.” Alois said, “you're so slow, Phantomhive.”

“Congratulations, Nico,” Said Dante, smiling. “This is just in time for Hazel’s arrival, isn’t it? She’s coming in what, a few more days or so? It’ll be so fun to have a sister! We can shop for shoes for her and pretty clothing and oh it just sounds so fun already!” I wondered if Hazel would like that, but the mere thought of her wearing an outfit picked out by Dante made me laugh.

“Yeah, have fun doing that.” I said, then glanced down at the ring. _Just how much do I mean to you, Ciel?_

     “ Young Master, would you like me to clean your room?” I looked around for Ciel, but he wasn't anywhere around me. I turned to Sebastian, a little shocked. I didn't really know what to say since that was the first time he'd ever called me "Young Master."

“ Is it really that dirty?”

“ Well, you have certainly neglected to clean it.” Said Sebastian, a little shocked at me.

“ Um, okay. Go clean.” I said, shooing him off. He went, and I was still trying to comprehend the fact that he’d called me Young Master, a term he only used for Ciel.

“ We’re sharing the entitlement of servants too?” I said into the nothingness.

“ Yes.” Ciel’s voice came from behind me and I turned to him.

“ This is kind of like being married to you.” I said to Ciel, and he shrugged.

“ It’s more like practice for marriage I suppose.” Said Ciel, “ you kept the ring on so I guess that was a sign of agreement.”

“ So, this kind of makes me your fiancé?”

“ No, you’re below the status of fiancé but above the status of a lover.”

“ Good, because I want to be the one who proposes to you.”

“ If that is what you wish, I would not mind being the one proposed too.” Said Ciel with a nod.

“ Yes, I do wish that.” I said, “ Perhaps I might see what you look like surprised.”

“ I doubt you will surprise me.”

“ We’ll see about that.” I said, and began to walk. Ciel walked with me. I really did wonder what Hazel would think about him and me together, and I thought about how much I had changed since I left there. I remembered exactly how I was, and I wondered how that could have changed. I figured that Ciel was a big part of that, and I wondered if Hazel would adjust as well as I had. It no doubt would be interesting to see, and I knew already that I would have to be a large part of her adjustment to this new life.

***

        “ DELILAH. WORK, DAMMIT.” I yelled at her. She’d been slacking off doing nothing AGAIN even when I asked her to vacuum the upstairs. She was gone in a flash and I began to clean the couch she was sitting on. True, perhaps she had a crush on Erik. True, she was heart-broken and disappointed that he only saw her in a parental way but it was no excuse to slack off. With Hazel’s coming, all of the servants were kicked into cleaning overdrive just as they had been with Nico’s arrival. We had been almost totally unprepared for L and Dante's, so we were making up for it the fourth time around.

      I looked outside while I was cleaning. It was suspected more slayers would come at Erik and Delilah that night, so we had to be prepared for that too. At least if they struck the home, Erik and Delilah would not be alone. Since it was threatening their masters, the demonic parts of the servant staff and Agni would fight along side us. I wasn’t very worried, though I did worry about Hazel seeing them. She wouldn’t understand even if we explained it to her, not with how new she was. I don’t think the other servants (or their masters for that matter) necessarily knew the approaching danger. I sighed and cleaned the window. I wondered how I’d gotten to this state. I had been one of the best dance instructors in Paris, I was known for my work at the opera. Now I was but a head servant, washing windows, cleaning floors, and yelling at a little lazy demon girl perhaps because of pent-up stress, sorrow, and anger. However, I could do nothing about that. I was sure the demon servants felt the same way if they felt anything at all. I had no idea why I had gone with Erik. Erik was like a son to me, and I did not want him to be alone. But why had I left my daughter Meg? Ah yes, I remembered. I wanted her to have a good life, and I knew the life of a servant did not rival the life of a stunning ballerina such as herself. With Christine gone, she might even get the spot of prima donna. I didn’t want her to be a vampire at first but-no. No I cannot even speak of that. But why had I left to find Erik other than the fact that he was like my son? I didn’t want to think about it, but I did. I left Paris to find him in England, and he made me his servant because that was the only way for me to tie into his life as an Earl. I remembered Paris very well. It was a lovely city, and I recalled on the faded glimpses of the past. I could still hear the lively clatter of the city, I still remembered the language as did Erik apparently. We both rambled off sometimes.

“ Madame?”

“ _Oui?”_ I said before remembering _oh right your still in England. Speak English._ I turned to Sebastian, who had a grim look on his face.

“ Delilah broke the new tea set.”

I sighed, a fresh headache coming on. “ Oh _Mon Dieu._ How much was this one?”

“ 250 pounds.”

“ I told her to clean the floor, not the tea sets!”

“ I suppose half of it is Mey-Rin’s fault due to the fact Delilah walked into her. Because of this I will pay half, 125 pounds for an equivalent.” Said Sebastian, and I nodded.

“ That sounds reasonable.” I said, “ Did you clean it?”

“ No, I made both of them do it.” Said Sebastian, “ but you should make sure she’s not slacking after she and Mey-Rin clean it.”

“ I know.” I said, “ she and Mey-Rin should be done by the time I get there, correct? Where did the set fall?”

“ The west wing's stair case.”

“ Thank you, Sebastian.”

“ Oh, and Madame, one more thing.” I turned back to him. “ You have been running yourself ragged lately, you must rest sometime.”

“ Why would the Phantomhive butler worry about me?” I smiled at him politely, “ I am merely Erik’s servant. You have better things to do than to tell me to rest, _non_?”

“ Yes, but with the slayers coming soon, you will need all of your energy to fight them.”

“ And why are you concerned about my well being?”

“ Because you are the only servant Erik has.” Sebastian said with a sigh, “ the only reliable one anyways. Which servant he calls upon after your death shows favor to that one person, and it could cause friction between my Master, Lord Trancy, and even Prince Soma. I do not think he wants that, and I have my Master’s interests and well-being as a priority.”

“ Ah, now that’s the Sebastian I expect to see.” I walked away from him without another word.

***

       I wandered around. Ciel was out doing something, and so I wandered aimlessly around the house. I still didn’t know how to properly navigate it, and I wished he were there. I just kept going down stairs until I found myself in what must have been near the basement. The den had furniture assembled in a circle as well as a small TV. There was a table, and it looked like it was made out of a sort of metal. There were mirrors around the room, but no pictures whatsoever. The mirrors were well polished, and the leather furniture was in perfect condition. I took a deep breath and smelled cleaning solutions, which accounted for the furniture. There were three recliners, one long couch, a smaller couch, and a long rocking chair with a bag of what looked like it had knitting and crocheting tools inside. I realized I had wandered into none other but the servants’ living room. I realized that due to the amount of servants, they must have a floor to themselves. So, I kept walking. The floors were wooden unlike the mostly carpeted floors of the upstairs, and the hallways were odd. The doorways of six rooms were painted a dark blue like Ciel’s favorite color. Five doorways were painted dark purple, one was painted gold, and two were painted black. I realized that the six doorways were entrances to the Phantomhive servants’ rooms, the five purple The Trancy’s, gold was for Agni’s room, and two were for Delilah and Madame Giry. Curiously and to see if I was right, I opened a purple door.

        The room was weird. Instead of a bed, it had a hammock that was made out of a string of some sort. I went in, and touched it. No, it wasn’t string. It was spider webs woven into a sort of rope that made the hammock. There was a wardrobe, a large mirror, and a clear plastic cabinet with objects used for knitting, crocheting, etc.; enough of it to make the Fates jealous. I noted that there were no balls of yawn or skeins anywhere, then I noticed the weird machine by the hammock. It looked like it was making a sort of thread; it was a spinning frame. It had a white material on it, and when I touched it, I realized that it was spider thread. A horrible flashback hit me when I touched it. I ran out of the room as soon as it was over.

      I went to the next doorway of dark blue wondering how the Trancy servant had gotten that many spiders, and I had a few more flashbacks before I entered the room. The room smelled of citrus and slightly of cats, and it had a normal bed thank gods. The walls were black, and it had a white chest of drawers with a mirror on top. There were five tan scratching posts and three walls devoted to feline structures. There was not just the heaping amount of feline related things but there were a lot of cats. Friendly ones came and rubbed up against my legs and I tried to pet them to the best of my ability, a few clawed at my pants for attention, aggressive ones hissed and shrunk away into various hiding places, young kittens mewed and their mothers' eyes me cautiously, and some just sat, undisturbed, napping, some curious. It was a kitty wonderland. I closed the door behind me, remembering I had never seen cats around the mansion before. So I sat on the bed, subdued by cats and wondering which Phantomhive servant’s room it was. Whoever they were, I hoped that they would spring me out soon.

***

       “ Sebastian, where is Nico?”

“ I do not know, Master, was he not with you?”

“ No, he was not with me. Did you see him in the halls?”

“ No, I will ask the other servants.” With that, I went off and found Mey-Rin in the halls. “ Did you see Master Nico?”

“ Yes, he was heading downstairs.”

“ Master wishes for his company, so I am going to fetch him wherever he is.”

“ He’s very free spirited, good luck!” Mey-Rin went off, and I continued to go downstairs.

       After not finding him, I got to the servants’ quarters, which was the third to last floor. I traced his presence there, and to my dismay, I opened the door and found him playing with my beloved cats. “ Sebastian, what’s with the cats?” Said Master Nico, playing with a kitten.

“ I love cats.” I said, “ And Young Master requires your presence.”

“ Alright.” Master Nico got up and we left my room.

“ Why on earth would you go into the servants’ quarters?”

“ I don’t know.” Master Nico said, “ I walked and found my way down here. So, that's where you guys live?”

“ Yes.” I said, “ That is where we live.”

“ It’s simpler than I thought. How can that Trancy servant get that much spider webs?”

“ You went into Claude’s room?” I said, and he nodded. “ You could have gotten yourself in danger. Do not do it again.”

“ Aren’t you supposed to save me from that now?” Master Nico said, looking down.

“ Yes I am, but who knows what happens when one is caught in a spider’s web.” I said, “ It all depends on how loud you can scream before they sink their pincers-” His face grew paler and he raised his hand as a beckon for me to stop.

“ Don’t talk about spiders. I hate spiders for what Arachnae did to Percy and Annabeth.” Nico said, “ I noticed there are cobwebs in the house. Not many, just one or two small ones here and there but still. Why don’t you get rid of them, Sebastian?”

I frowned and sighed again. “ I loathe spiders also.” I said, “ Claude is a spider-demon. He feels kinship with spiders, and tries his hardest to ensure their safety in this mansion. When he finds a web, he places a barrier around it so it and the spider cannot be harmed. It’s quite annoying, and when I find one without a barrier, it gets last week's newspaper 13 times.”

“ Why 13?”

“ It was ultimately because of Claude’s actions that lead to my Young Master becoming a demon and I was robbed of my meal as well as forced under the contract for eternity-I am happy now even he must share the same burden-but my Master was turned into a demon at the age of 13, as you know. So, to hurt him without fighting him, I kill spiders 13 times, the age at which my Master was turned into a demon because of him. It is almost a reminder that is was almost entirely his fault we are in this predicament.” I tried to think about what my life would be like if things had gone the way they were supposed too. I sighed again, because I knew it could never be.

“ Could I give you an order, Sebastian?” Master Nico said, turning to me.

“ I suppose.” I said, remembering I not only had to serve one master now.

“ Promise me you won’t betray it under any circumstance.”

“ If you so desire.”

“ No, swear on the River of Styx.”

“ Fine, I swear on the River of Styx.” The term did not really apply to me, so I could betray it at anytime without consequence.

“ Take 3 weeks off.”

“ What?”

“ You heard me. Relinquish your Satanic-Niles ways for 3 weeks and do whatever the hell you want. Have a good time, Sebastian.” He walked past me, and looked back. I quickly went off, eager to change into plain clothes and enjoy my first evening of three weeks worth on the town.

***

      “ You did what?”

“ Yeah, I gave him three weeks off.”

“ WHY?”

“ Don’t get so angry, he needed it. Ciel, even demons need a day off.”

“ He’s the bloody head butler he can not take a day off! Also, three weeks is not an equivalent to a day! When did he leave?”

“ A few minutes after I told him. Tanaka said he’d do the ordering of head butler for the three weeks.”

“ Ah, yes, well, I suppose this can’t go too badly.” Said Ciel, calming down. “ Just don’t order anything this extensive without telling me first.”

“ Yes Ciel,” I said crossing my two fingers behind my back. “ I promise.”

“ Don’t pull that on me.” Ciel said, “ I know your fingers are crossed behind your back. Honestly, Nico, you're so childish sometimes.”

“ Oh? And you act as though you aren't as well?” I said with a smile, “ we all can’t be 138 years old.” 138 years seemed like a long time, and I thought of how different it must have been. Ciel still did show some of the traits of living through different eras. “ So, you grew up in the Victorian era.”

“ Yes,” Ciel said, “ it was very different from now. Back then, travel was mostly by trains and carriages, women wore corsets which hurt, and normal plain clothes of men would be considered formal clothing now if not gaudy.”

“ How would you know corsets hurt?”

“ Do not ask me that.”

“ Okay.” I said, then tried to imagine Ciel in a dress. To my own shock, I thought he wouldn’t look that bad, if not convincing. “ So, you wore a dress.”

“ It was to catch a man suspected of being Jack the Ripper-in fact, it was Alois's cousin Aleister.”

“ Oh.” It seemed plausible, but there were still a few holes that made the idea weird. “ Okay then.”

“ I have to say your reaction is unlike most people.” Said Ciel, “ but it was the reaction that I would expect from you.”

“ At this point, Ciel, I’m not surprised that you know me so well.” I said, “ just like I know you pretty well, even though I have a lot to learn about your because, well, your 138 years old-”

“ 137. I will be 138 this December.”

“ When’s your birthday?”

“ I do not celebrate my birthday.”

“ Something bad must have happened.” I said, “ That’s basically the story of our lives, right Ciel? Bad stuff happening, bad stuff coming when we both didn’t even know it.”

“ Nico,” Ciel began, looking down at the papers. “ My birthday is the day the siege of my mansion happened, the day they were murdered and the day I was sold as a sacrifice.”

“ I would say that’s a valid reason to not celebrate it.” I said, “ Don’t worry. The day I found out Bianca died still brings me pain, too, so you have reasons to not like that day.”

“ You have no idea.” He murmured, “ None at all.”

“ I really don’t.” I said, “ You were only ten and you saw your parents dead. That is why you are sadder than I am, one of the reasons you cannot feel happiness.”

“ You’re right.” Ciel said, “ Though sometimes, I feel very close to it, yet I am still far.”

“ When was that, Ciel?”

“ It was when I got my revenge. It went away almost as quickly as it came. However, now, I get it every so often even when I have no idea why.”

" How long has that been going on?"

" Ever sense you came, Nico."


	24. Near the End of the Deal

***

     It was a normal day until I sent Erik to go get me chocolate. Then I began to think about my successor, Mello, whom had loved chocolate. He was usually eating a chocolate bar. Nico and Dante walked in before Erik did. They didn’t travel together often, and their personalities were conflicting, so I wondered how they never fought. I guessed it was because they respected each other, or perhaps they looked past their differences and saw each other as brothers; nothing more and nothing less than that. “Hello you two, what’s the meaning of this?” I said without pausing between my greeting.

“I just wanted to see my big brother that’s all!” Dante hugged me, and I returned the hug.

“Ciel was doing paperwork, so I might as well come down to see you sense we haven’t talked in a while.” Nico said, “Any cases?”

“No, I told you two, I don’t get them very much. I’m mostly underground so if my successors are indeed alive, they won’t find me.” I said, “So it’s hard to get found for a case.”

“Why don’t you want them to find you? We could have a lot of fun with them around! What’s two, three more people when we have over 100 rooms to spare?” Dante said, “Are they dangerous?”

“Two might be bordering dangerous.” I said, “I don’t really know. But if Near ever finds me he’ll think I’m an impostor, because I raised Near and Mello to believe that things like vampires weren’t real, and that they were just excuses to cover up the real suspect.”

“ It’s smart tactic overall,” said Nico, “Because for the most part in the mortal world, in a normal life or death situation, that’s true. I have a feeling that’s what you dealt with until Kira. But if they saw the grim reapers, if they saw the notebooks and their effects, wouldn’t they be more believing?”

“ Maybe.” I said, “ But I would doubt it. Kira was a very odd case, and no doubt if they believe in anything arcane that would be the only thing.”

“ You never were attacked by monsters, were you L?” Nico said, and I shook my head.

“ The people who might have been monsters were halted in their tracks.”

“ You can’t halt a monster in their tracks, L.”

“ Perhaps there are certain circumstances where you could, but you just don’t see them.” I said, “ Besides, you are a monster now.” His eyes zoned out into the distance with a horrified glance.

“ Tsk, tsk Nico! You shouldn’t think so deeply, after all, what were you expecting L to come back with?” Dante said, leaning on his shoulder and looking like he was trying to reason with him. “ Oh, right. Your not listening. I suppose that people do not listen to me even when they should.”

“ I’m listening.” I said, “ Is there anything you want to tell me?”

“ No, it’s something I want to ask you.” Said Dante, “ how is our dear sister? I know the answer of course, but I wanted to hear it from you. Moreover, if Nico had not been zoned out, I would not have said anything. Usually you would not have said something like that to Nico.” He smiled darkly. “ That was me, L, you had no control. However, I needed you to say it to get my question answered properly and without our dear brother possibly judging you. You're always right, after all. Talk freely, if I know what I’m doing he’ll be stuck in thought for a bit.” His mind powers were almost scary now. I knew they’d increased, of course, so it didn’t surprise me. After all I could use them to my advantage because, to put it very frankly, he adored me in a strictly fraternal way just as he did Nico (don’t let him kid you by his actions because you have to take into account his mental problems) and Luka.

“ Hazel is coming soon here, even though I don’t believe that she is quite ready for the world she’s walking into. I would compare her coming to Alice being dragged the rabbit into the rabbit hole to which has no escape.”

“ A very bold and accurate statement, dear brother.” Said Dante, “ I agree with it completely. Like Alice lured and dragged into Wonderland by the rabbit, Hazel is lured and will be dragged into our world, which has no escape even if she asks. Also, just like Wonderland, if you do not ask correctly how to escape or you do not complete your task there you will not escape. However, Hazel can never escape no matter what she does. I suppose if I was human, I would feel a bit guilty. But, as a monster, I could care less. When is she coming?”

“ Tomorrow, Dante.”

“ Already? My, my, how fun this will be!” He clapped his hands. “ We’ll all be so happy together, won’t we, L?”

“ It depends.”

“ Indeed it does, just try to see what I am seeing.”

“ Your view seems optimistic.”

“ L, the world is full of hardness and cold. If you look at only those things and look at it only that way, you become the way of the world. If you look at the world in a light and warm view, everything turns better because you have lied to yourself, and what sweet lies they are! Why not believe them as truth, so the world becomes a sweet lie instead of hard and cold? Is it better to believe a sweet and wonderful lie or is it better to listen to the cold drum of an unfair world that is like stone? The answer depends on who you are. True, you may believe that you believe the first, but think. Do you really, or are you lying to yourself again without knowing it?”

“ I would prefer to tell myself the truth, Dante, and you know that. This world feels like a lie sometimes without me making the lie worse. I know I’m supposed to be dead, but I’m not.” I said, “ That’s the way things go.”

“ Nothing is certain in this world or the next.”

“ No, I would say that some things are.”

“ Like what?”

“ Well, I’m a detective, so I know things are certain. Like it is certain that Light Yagami was the first Kira.”

“ Couldn’t have there have been another person who was like Kira before Kira?”

“ It would have been documented.”

“ Perhaps the people were too afraid to. Kira had universal power, after all.”

A red car appeared on the screen outside. “ Oh, speak of the Shinigami.”

***

      I knocked on the door, eager for it to open. Of course, I hugged the person who opened it, assuming it was Bassy, but ended up hugging Claude, who was alright, however I knew I could aim for better. “ Hello there Claude!” I said as I let go. “ Where’s the Trancy?”

“ Resting, he was very active last night.”

“ Why? It’s 12 in the afternoon! I don’t see why you’d sleep the day away unless you have a hang-over, but even then.” Claude rolled his eyes, oh that sexy beast.

     I walked around the house, how rude of Lord Trancy for inviting me over while he was dozing off! I searched for the alternative, which was Bassy. “ You know, Sebastian’s not here.” I turned to the little brat standing behind me. “ Nico gave him 3 weeks off.”

“ OH!” I said, how exciting! Perhaps he could spend the 3 weeks with me. I smiled at the possibility of Bassy and I. “ Where’s he staying, do you know?”

“ I have no idea, Grell.” Said the little brat, “ even if I did, I’m sure he wouldn’t want to stay with you.”

“ LIES! Of course dear Bassy would like to stay with me! Where else would he go?”

“ Hotels, inns, motels, bed and breakfasts-”

“ Where would he get the money?! Bassy could be out in the cold for all you care!”

“ He has a credit card." The brat sighed. " I hate to see the bill for this month.”

“ How do you pay the bill anyways?!”

“ Hades pays me to live here, and I have my Company.”

“ Why would Hades pay you to live here?”

“ Many demons are up here too and we face things like reapers which want to kill us because we eat souls. Alois is always putting us in danger by inviting you!”

“ At least I enjoy his company! Bassy’s the only thing going for you, brat. And, besides, Will is constantly nagging at me to kill you, and might I say that this conversation is making the order more enticing!” I walked away, hoping I’d scared the little brat even though my remarks were entirely facetious. In truth, it was Bassy that Will wanted me to kill more than the brat. But, the brat didn’t need to know that now did he?

      So, with Alois sleeping, Dante nowhere to be found, no Bassy, I searched for the only other person in the house that I liked. In fact, I had read her cinematic record book a few days prior. She did invite me over on numerous occasions and she was quite the person to be around. Even though she took the sexy phantom's heart off the market, she was still thoroughly enjoyable to be around. “ Oh Krista!” I said, and she appeared behind me. “ Oh, why hello there Krista! You got awfully fast, tell me, did something happen?”

“ No, nothing but the fact that Erik and I are a couple now.” Said Krista, “ We went on our first date a few days ago. That little maid girl had a crush on Erik and I wonder if she’s hurt-”

“ The demon one?”

“ Yes.”

“ I can kill her if she annoys you.”

“ You really love that dress don’t you Grell?”

“ I do. But your enjoyable yourself, Krista.” I said, “ Any other things?”

“ No.” Said Krista, “ she shouldn’t be too hurt by it after all, a baker boy has a crush on her and I think she has a crush on him too. She’s probably forgotten all about Erik.”

“ Indeed! Why are you worrying, Krista? The rivalry is finished, you have your man!” I winked, " a very sexy one if I may add."

“ No, Grell, there was never any rivalry between anyone. Erik loves me and loved me only.”

“ Oh. What a bore! I was hoping for something juicy.”

“ Grell, the demon is only 14.”

“ Well, then, ew. Erik taking an interest in her would be disgusting!” 

" He had no interest in her!”

“ I know that!”

“ He sees himself like a Father to her sense her former one was abusive.”

I pushed up my glasses slightly. “ Oh, I see.”

“ Yes.” Said Krista, “ I like her and wish to be friends. I hope that is possible one day.”

“ Perhaps you could use mind control.” I offered, “ just to set things straight.”

“ It’s not a horrible idea, Grell. But mind control will fail me sometimes, especially when I’m dealing with delicate minds like the minds of demons. I know a person who is skilled at that, however. Dante is rather gifted.”

“ Yes.” I agreed, remembering how once I told him to prove to me he could control minds. I ended up spewing out an entire paragraph about the wonderful and glorious color red, even though I had no control over the words that I was saying. “ He could be dangerous with that power.”

“ He could be, but mostly he uses it for his own purposes. Like for instance, to talk to L about Hazel, Dante made L say something that made Nico go deep in thought. Dante made him go deeper in thought with his powers to the point of Nico being oblivious to everything. When he was in that stage, Dante and L talked freely about Hazel.”

“ That’s interesting!” I said, “ you don’t hear cases like that everyday. You see, that’s why I like coming here. Looking at humdrum cinematic records bores me to tears, and this place sometimes has excitement or good stories to tell me. They release me from the drab old day.”

“ I would think that they’d give you exciting people to reap.”

“ Oh no, I’m afraid ever since a little incident Will usually gives me boring souls for months, then a rare exception of an exciting one.”

“ Oh you poor thing.” Said Krista, “ wasn’t her soul exciting?”

“ Yes, it was Krista. It was the first in 3 months.”

***

       “ L?” He wasn’t there like usual, but then he appeared in front of me.

“ Sorry I’m late.” Said L, “ anyways, you know tomorrow is the day, right?”

“ It is?” I said, realizing that this was all coming to an end. A rush of anticipation, curiosity, and fear came over me. He hadn’t said anything before, all he’d said was the day was coming closer. “ I have a few questions.”

“ And they’ll all be answered tomorrow.” Said L, “ everything comes to an end tomorrow.”

“ Am I going to die?”

“ No, you are not going to die, Hazel.” Said L, “ nobody is going to die. You haven’t told Frank, Percy, etc?”

“ No, I haven’t told any of them.” I said, “ should I?”

“ No, you shouldn’t.”

“ I still think your lying.”

He looked at me with those sleep-deprived eyes and sighed. “ Hazel, I wouldn’t lie to you. Just like I don’t lie to Nico, Dante, I don’t lie unless I’m trying to solve a case that needs lying to be solved.”

“ You’re a detective?” I think he’d told me that, but I’d forgot and wasn’t sure.

“ Yes, I happen to be a detective.” He looked me up and down, then back directly at me. “ Pack your valuable items and only bring them. Be ready, because they’ll be coming in the night time after all of the camp is asleep.”

“ So, they’re smuggling me out?”

“ Yes.” Said L, “ I will not be the one coming for you. The one coming for you is named Soma. He was a former prince of the country of Bengal, so he may want you to address him as Prince Soma. He might come with his servant, Agni.”

“ Okay.” I said, “ how old are they?”

“ Soma’s around 17 and I have no idea how old Agni is.”

“ Okay.” I said, I still felt nervous. “ Where am I going?”

“ You’ll be in England, near London.”

“ Percy shadow-traveled there before they said Nico had died. He had Mrs. O’Leary sense where Nico was, but was attack by something in the tunnel. He woke up in a mansion with no one in it, and left before anything else happened.”

“ That’s our mansion.”

“ Were you there, L?”

“ Yes, I saw Mrs. O’Leary tied to the fountain myself. Would you mind if I saw her?”

“ Why?”

“ The last time I petted her and she was really sweet. Sometimes I have a soft spot for large dogs.” Said L, “ I know it’ll be dangerous, but still.”

“ I don’t think so. No one’s in the arena, so.” L smiled at me, and I gestured him to come with me.

       The arena was quiet, and Mrs. O’Leary sniffed the air and got up. She walked over to L, and L petted her. He smiled, and Mrs. O’Leary nuzzled him affectionately. He baby talked to her, and suddenly disappeared. Frank came into the arena. “ Hey, uh, what are you doing here?” He asked me, looking at Mrs. O’Leary.

“ Nothing, just petting Mrs. O’Leary.” I said, “ do you think she misses Nico?”

“ Yeah.” Said Frank, “ she told me she hasn’t been feeling herself.”

“ You changed into a dog and talked to her?”

“ Yeah she said she sensed him in England though. But why would Nico be in England?”

“ I don’t know.” I lied, “ if he was still alive he wouldn’t go to England.”

“ I know right!” Said Frank, petting Mrs. O’Leary who looked forlornly. “ Don’t worry, girl, we believe you, it’s just Nico’s dead. The demons probably dragged his body to England to eat it or something.” She whimpered, then whipped her head towards the right, the hair on her shoulder blade moved even though there was no wind. Frank noticed it to, and touched the shoulder blade.

“ That’s weird.” He murmured. The looked at her. “ Perhaps your attracting ghosts now.” He said a little louder, petting her.

“ Maybe.” I said, wondering if L had turned invisible somehow.

“ Anyways, are you going to join me at the dining hall?”

“ Why the dining hall?”

“ Because, the campfire’s going on and there’s no one around to take this giant slice of chocolate cake. I thought we could share it.” I looked towards the woods, and something grabbed my shoulder like it wanted me to stay.

“ Um, I’m not feeling hungry.” I said, " you can go eat it, okay Frank?”

A little sad, he looked down. “ Oh, alright Hazel.” he said, then went off a little more sadly then when he’d came. I felt really horrible about making him sad, and when he was gone, I turned to L.

“ Sorry about that, Hazel.” Said L, “ I didn’t know Frank would find us here.” He looked sadly, and I had to feel bad for him too. “ Mrs. O’Leary reminds me of a dog they had at one of the abusive foster homes I was at. It wasn’t the parents. It was their son…that nasty son…he abused the dog too, and so I bonded with it and we would hide. His parents used my talents and brought attention to me which was how Wammy House found me, though I couldn‘t take their dog with me.”

“ I never had a dog.” I said, “ but I have Arion.”

“ He appears at your side, correct?”

“ Yes.”

“ Well, looks like the Trio and Finny will just have to do extra lawn work.”

“ I have no idea who those people are.”

“ You’ll know.”

" Will I ever be able to come back?" I said, looking in the direction Frank had came and gone.  _If he says no, it's not going to happen as planned. I will come back, Frank._

" You may never come back." 


	25. Hazel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's going to be a second part to this, thank you for reading so far and I hop you will stay tuned for the second one!

***

      I woke up nervous. It was 8 o’clock. I was fully dressed, and I got off my bed and felt the sheet, wondering if I would ever feel it again. I had not slept, and it was finally time to retrieve Hazel. I had been nervous all day, and my heart was pumping. I took a deep breath, got off my bed, and began to walk. My knees were shaky, and I went to Ciel’s room. He was asleep, and woke up when I came in. “What is it, Soma?”

“You know that if they catch me, I will more than likely die, right?” I said, and he nodded. I gave him a hug. “I just wanted to tell you that you were the best little brother ever.”

“I’m not your little brother.”

“Biologically, no.” I said, “And you were my best friend. If I die, I wanted to let you know that.” I let go, and he looked down at the sheets of his bed.

“If you die, Soma that will leave less than 15 people from my past living.”

“I know.” I said, “Take care of yourself, Ciel. I hope you and Nico find happiness, or at least that you finally found the happiness that you lost and never got back.” I left the room, looked back at him for a moment, and then kept going.

       I felt like I was on my way to die. There was over an 85% chance that the demigods would catch me and I and Agni would die. I suppose you, as the reader, don’t really know how agonizing it was. Think of all the monsters demigods have killed. Think of how many they killed in groups. I was a monster going into the hearts of the flame of said camp that trained them to do such things, which were the cabins. I had reasons to feel the way I did that night.

     I broke out in a cold sweat halfway down the stairs, and stumbled on them. I gripped the railing tightly and pulled myself up, then went down the stairs into the kitchen where Agni was waiting for me. I was near the point of passing out from fear. My heart was going the fastest it had ever gone, my mind drummed with the horror of death, and I was sweating as though I had outrun a bullet train. “Agni.” I said to him, and he put his hand on my shoulder, his look grave.

“I am ready to die.” He said, and I hugged him.

“I’m so scared.” Was all I could manage out of my mouth, which took shaky breaths as if my lungs could not hold any air.

“ I know.” He held me closer and I felt like I was going to throw up.

“ I'm not ready to die, Agni.”

      The shadow traveling made my fears even worse. On the 10 split seconds it took, my feelings intensified and I wanted very desperately to escape. Then we stood among the gates. The dragon did not wake from its sleep, perhaps because it felt my sheer terror and feel of death. I ran to the gates with Agni, my knees suddenly feeling strong again. I ran through those gates.

      Agni was following behind me. We ran up and across a volleyball field, nearly tripping a few times but not wavering. My lycan speed kicked in, and I ran so fast the world blurred, and then Agni and I were there. The heart of the shark tank. The cabins.

      I ran past the Zeus and Hera cabin, but stopped dead in my tracks. By the fire sat a little girl. My heart stopped, yet she smiled at me like an old friend. The dying campfire ashes whirled and a little fire started. She looked at me, and I looked to Agni. In a silent exchange of words that was a nod, I went over to the little girl who could be my death. _If I pretended to be a camper evading-_ “ Hello Prince Soma, or shall I now say Earl Soma.” She said, and I sat next to her. “ I’m amazed you stopped near me. I am Hestia, goddess of the hearth.” Said the goddess seeming eager to start a conversation. “ Don’t worry, they won’t wake up when we’re here.”

“ Oh thank gods.”

“ But, after you leave, there are no promises. They could wake up at any given moment.”

“ Geez, thanks.” I said, “ not as if I was nervous or anything.”

Hestia laughed. “ So, it was Hades that sent you to collect Hazel here.” I wasn’t stupid. I knew that was a question I couldn’t answer. As an Earl, there were many questions that I should have answered but for Hades I could not. Therefore, I stayed silent, staring into the flames. The warm crackle felt familiar, it felt like the fires lit in the fireplaces of the mansion while the winter winds blew against the mansion. Oh, what fun times at the mansion on those nights. We would sit and talk, maybe have some tea or hot cocoa, Erik would maybe play a tune on the violin…I felt at home while sitting with Hestia. I almost felt as though everyone was there, I could recall Luka’s laugh, the clank of tea cups, the voice of Sebastian, the high-pitched and lovely music of the violin…ah yes, it was so clear. If Hestia said anything, I did not hear her, but I do not think she said anything. I did feel her holding my hand as though she was strengthening my thought of family. I closed my eyes and saw vividly the times by the fireplace. When I opened my eyes, Hestia was gone, and the fire was completely dead. Agni stood, shaking my shoulder.

“ Young Prince?” He said desperately as though he’d been trying to wake me up.

“ What is it, Agni?” I said, feeling completely calm. The panic was gone, and I was not afraid. It was almost the peace of death.

“ You weren’t responding.” He looked at me. “ You’ve encountered a goddess, Young Prince.”

“ The goddess of home.” I said, “ Not our homeland, just home. It was so nice, Agni.” Then the calm broke. There was noise from one of the cabins on the upper left. In the far lower left, I saw a cabin of black obsidian with torches of black flame. It was Hades’s. I got up, my legs ready to run again, but not the same way as they were. “ Quickly, Agni. I think we’re in for some company.” He nodded, still looking nervous.

     We ran fast across the grass, finally reaching the cabin. I hugged Agni, and was near tears. “ We’ve made it.” I whispered to him, “ We’ve made it!”

“ Yes my Young Prince.” He said, and we opened the door.

Hazel looked as nervous as I think I had looked. She had a duffel bag ready, and she bit her lip. “ Are you-”

“ Yes.” I said, and she got up from the bed. “ Quickly, we have to get out of here before they find us.”

“ Why? You look normal.” Said Hazel, and I sighed.

“ But walking around at this hour is not!” I said, “We need to get out of the camp border.”

“ Why can’t you just get us out of here right now?”

“ Because only sons of Hades can do that when in the camp. Sense I’m not one, we need to get out of the camp before we can get to England.” I said, “ Come quickly!” I began to walk at a rushed pace. I could tell that Hazel wasn’t motivated or lively enough to run with me. My nerves didn’t flare, and I felt as though Hestia had something to do with that. Agni looked more nervous than me, and as we went right, out of the ring of cabins.

“ This way is longer.” Hazel said, looking a bit more motivated.

“ Taking the way through the cabins is a liability.” I said, “ This way is better.”

“ This way is the way that satyrs and harpies will catch you.”

“ Better satyrs and harpies than demigods.”

“ Why?” Said Hazel, now more awake and going faster. “ They’ll both kill you equally.”

“ I don’t know.” I said, “ Being chopped into tiny bits scares me more than becoming a tree.”

“ I would feel the same way.” Said Hazel, looking at the darkened arena as we passed it. “ When we hit the armory, head south.”

“ You're wonderful.” I said out of exhaustion and fear, now having an idea of where we were going. The one bad thing about Hestia’s gift to me of partial fearlessness was that I was now exhausted from lack of sleep, and my adrenaline had disappeared.

“ You seem kind.” She said as we hit the armory. I lost her gift then. I had a large sense of fear come over me and I wanted to run away. My symptoms I’d faced earlier returned. In the armory where glimmering and sharp celestial bronze weapons, hanging, laying, ready to be used at any moment. _South, run south._ I grabbed Hazel’s arm and yanked her forward, and Agni and I ran so fast she was like a kite behind me. An arrow whizzed past my head, and I ran in a different direction. Hazel was yelling something, but I wasn’t listening. I was scared, I needed to get away from our attacker. It was my job to keep her safe. I kept running, taking random turns, avoiding buildings and trees. I ended up dodging many things, and finally I was caught in liquid for a moment before bursting out of it, as did Agni. However, I didn’t stop running; I was too scared to stop running. I ran and ran until my feet hit concrete, and then I ran on the concrete past farms and streetlamps illuminating the gray and road. The only sound I heard was some words lost as they were muttered from Hazel's mouth, the beating of my heart, the sharpness of my breath, and the sound of my sneakers hitting the pavement, going as fast as I could. 

       15 miles later I and Agni stopped. We were still in the middle of nowhere, but nowhere was good. Nowhere was safe. I looked at Hazel and Agni. “ Young Prince.” Agni said, we were both panting from running.

“ We’ve made it, Agni.” I looked up into the sky. “ We’ve made it out alive.” He nodded, and I looked to Hazel. She wasn’t running away from us, but she was staring at us. “ So, uh, this is it?” She said, and I shook my head.

“ No,” I said as joy filled me, “ no, we’re going home to England.” I grabbed her hand again and we began to shadow-travel.

***

       I felt sick that night. Not a normal cough and runny nose kind of sick, but a nervous and guilty feeling that tortured me with different physical feelings. I reacted to them by tossing and turning, then finally just laying face up, staring at the ceiling. I closed my eyes for the umpteenth time, then got up. I went downstairs, only to find that Erik was awake, sitting in the living room. I sat next to him on the couch, and we soundlessly greeted each other by a short nod. “ You must not be in the mood for talking.”

“ I’m not.” I said, “ Nothing anyone says can make me feel better. My sister is being dragged into the same situation as me. Nothing can make me feel better.”

“ I would not expect anything to.” Said Erik, swirling the wine around in his glass. I hadn’t noticed it when I’d walked in, and he looked at me. He looked back at the glass and took a sip. “ The way you are feeling is completely acceptable, don’t worry, I’m not a person who tells you to betray what you feel.” He snickered. “ I’ve meet more than one person like that.”

“ So have I.” I said, “ It’s good to not be surrounded by them now.”

“ People who try to make you like them are the worse.” Said Erik, “ because one day you envy them because all their efforts have made you believe that the way they are is the only way to be good, the only way to be happy. You strive for it, yet you know because of whatever reason you cannot be them. It’s so very painful.” It took me a few seconds to know that I knew exactly what he was talking about.

“ And, even when they’re not trying, when you try to be with them, to blend in with them, you feel as though you are alone, or as though you should not be there. That’s painful too.”

Erik nodded understandingly.“ So you take yourself away from them, so you do not have to feel pain.” Erik said and again I knew exactly what he meant. “ Nico, I lived underground for over 20 years because of those reasons. People rejected me and did the same things that you and I have mentioned. I was never given any pity, and treated like an animal. So I went away from them. The one person who did not make me feel that way, my precious Christine, never returned my feelings of love. She ran away in fear of me.” The words came from him pitifully, and I understood why he was near tears. To have the one person in the world who you loved reject you and be terrified you after years of the same was a terrible thing. _M_ _y precious Christine, never returned my feelings of love._ I knew how he felt-it had been similar to the way I'd felt about Percy. “ I can’t say it completely has ended, but things have improved immensely for me. I have found comfort here. I have found people who I feel are sons, which does include you, a person who I feel is my daughter, and Krista, a woman who more than replaces Christine in the little time I have known her. True, in some crowds, my feelings are remaining, but not ever when I am here. I am at peace here, at true happiness not matter what comes. As long as I am here, I am in my heaven, my true home. True it is a very warped heaven full of warped people, but it is the heaven of the monster that is me.”

“ Maybe you’ll have two daughter figures now.” I said, “ Delilah and Hazel.” He nodded.

“ Nico,” his blue-eyed glance went through me even though it was not harsh or malevolent. “ It is true in this web of lies that Hazel will not be made into a vampire.”

“ No?” I said, “ then what?”

“ Well, he hasn’t ordered anything with her yet.”

“ Okay.” I said, “ He’s probably doing that because he knows that Hazel is in love with Frank.”

“ More than likely.” Said Erik, then he chuckled. “ And Percy?”

“ I just feel like he’s a friend now.” I said, “ But he’s still pretty hot, I mean, come on.”

“ I’m sure Ciel agreed with you.” Said Erik, “ but that’s good to hear from you. I still remember when you were moping in a supplies closet. You’ve come a long way, Nico.”

“ I know those aren’t the words I necessarily want to hear, but at the same time they are.” I said, then began to rub my sleepless eyes. “ Things are so tinted and messed up now.”

“ They will be for a long time. Remember Nico, the total time you’ve been here barely stretches over three months.”

“ It doesn’t feel like it. It feels like 20 years or so.”

“ And it will. At first, time flows more quickly than water. But then as it stretches on, it gets slower. Either that or you’ll just be one of those monsters who never really does adjust, and time always moves quickly because you're always on your feet, always doing something or always thinking something.” Erik said, “ I wouldn’t be surprised if you are that monster.”

“ I wouldn’t be surprised either.” I said, “ How long should this take?”

“ It could never happen at all. Soma could be killed, just like Ciel could have been killed.” Said Erik, “ the risk is ever-present, and even worse since the idiots almost condemned the demigods to death.”

“ You were against that?”

“ I was.” Erik looked again into his wine glass. “ All I saw was you in their eyes, and I knew that they were your people. Despite their stony exterior in the face of death, I could see the childlike fear in their eyes as well as innocence. I wonder if Hazel still has that look, because pain can change a person.”

“ Indeed it can.” I said, “ I know that. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that pain tore down what I was and put up an entirely new front. I’ve changed so many times, Erik, and I just wish I could stop changing.”

“ I can’t say that you’ll stop. 100 years from now, you could be an entirely different person. Perhaps the changes will slow down more so now, Nico.” Said Erik, “ just wait. Once Hazel settles down, things will be alright, perhaps even boring.”

“ It will be nice to have her around again.” I said, “ I missed her. Sometimes I had dreams about Camp, and not just pleasant ones.”

“ We will always have dreams that are ghosts from the past and ghosts that lurk in the future unseen.” Said Erik, “ you will always remember Percy no matter how faint the memory of him becomes.” I closed my eyes and saw him in my mind. Then I began to remember other people, and a memory came into play. My mind wandered, and before I knew it, I didn’t want to open my eyes.

***

      We shadow traveled into an English city. The city streets still had people on them even at that time, which was 11:06. “ Why did we stop?” I asked Soma, but taking one look at him, I knew why. Him and Agni looked like they could crash right there on the sidewalk, and I was about to too.

“ Do you see how tired I am?” Said Soma, answering me. “ It’s okay for you to ask that question though, you must be tired too.” I clutched my duffel bag and looked around.

“ Where are we?”

“ A place.”

“ You mean you don’t know?”

“ I don’t know every city in England!” He paused and sighed. “ Agni, call a taxi.” Agni, the tall Indian butler, nodded and took out a cell phone. I looked at Soma as he did so, then looked around. Streetlights shone on the street, and a few cars passed by. “ How many monsters are up here?”

“ A lot.” Said Soma, “ due to some occult back in the day a few demons stayed, it’s really one of those mega monster crossroads between Europe, where a whole bunch of monsters come from, you go shadow-travel down a bit and your near Olympus, then we have the rest of the continent of Asia which is full to the brim with monsters. Also, many Earls are here, so that attracts people. England is considered a crossroads place that had and still has a thriving and large group of Earls of the Underworld. For instance, think of how many earls and dukes and countesses etc. there were in England, and that is why there are many Earls of the Underworld. It’s another reason why there’s so many here. But most of the monsters usually just flock here for the Earls.”

“ So, what exactly do you people do?”

“ Enforce Hades’s rules, mediate problems, execute and imprison supernatural troublemakers, do things and carry out tasks that Hades assigns. Because of you, Nico, L, and Dante; Hades has halted all of our tasks.” I said, “The bond of demigod monsters and monsters still needs a little time to smooth over.”

“ Okay.” I said, and Agni closed the phone.

       We all waited for the taxi in awkward silence after that, and when it came, we got in in silence. I fell asleep in the taxi against the window, and had a dreamless sleep.

“ Hazel.” Soma gently shook my shoulder and woke me up.

“ What?” I groggily looked out the window to see that a large, extravagant mansion was in front of us. It was very well kept looking, and I saw Arion grazing in the yard with a person whom I guessed was the gardener standing by him. I got out of the car, and Soma took my duffel bag. For some reason I trust him with it, but then again I was trusting my life with him so why not my duffel bag? I walked into the large foyer, which had a chandelier on the ceiling. It sparkled above us, and a butler appeared in front of me. Soma and Agni came in after me, and Agni eyed the butler curiously.

“ It’s fine, Agni.” Said the tall butler. He wore a black suit, and had black hair that framed his pale face. One thing that stood out was his red eyes that seemed to sparkle in the light like gems. “ You two should rest.” When I looked over at the two of them, I could see he was right, because both of them still looked like they were ready to fall asleep on the floor.

“ He’s right, Agni.” Said Soma, and then he looked at me with a weak and tired smile. “ I’ll go put this is your room, and if you need me, I will be in mine.”

      The two walked off and up stairs, which were next to a doorway on the other side. I looked back to the demon butler. I felt as though I recognized him from somewhere, and then I remember he was the demon who fought Annabeth. As though he could read my mind, at that thought, a smile came onto his lips. He bowed respectively, and when he came up again, he looked around as though he was making sure I hadn’t tracked any monsters inside besides Soma and Agni. His eyes finally focused back on me. “ Good morning, Miss Hazel.”

“ Good morning.” I said with a nod.

“ My name is Sebastian Michaelis, head butler of Phantomhive house.”

“ So that’s why you were fighting Annabeth.” I said, thinking that if he was coming to Ciel, the demon Earl’s, aid that he’d have to fight off Annabeth who was going to help Percy.

“ Yes,” said Sebastian, “ it was." There was a silence between us before he spoke again.

" Now, may I show you around?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


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